The All Progressives Congress APC in Oyo state has described the 2024 budget proposal of the Governor Seyi Makinde as defective, unrealistic and fraudulent urging the State Legislators to avoid rushing into its passage into law without a thorough job as it has been the case since 2020.
Gov. Makinde had last Tuesday presented a total sum of N434.2billion as the proposed budget of the state for 2024 before the State House of Assembly members and he tagged it “Budget of Economic Recovery”.
In a statement issued on Monday and made available to journalists in Ibadan by its Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, Oyo APC faulted most content of the Appropriation document “which passed for another dubious presentation aimed at hoodwinking the good people of the state by a government which has shown that it lacks innovation, policy direction and accountability over time.
“Pundits and economic management experts have had to express worries over the future of the Pacesetter state in view of the fact that the administration of Gov. Makinde has done little or nothing to improve the economy and create wealth as being done in some other states across the country. To make it worse, an expert recently said that Gov. Makinde has reduced Oyo state to ‘Land Grabbing and Okada/Keke economy.
“Credence was again given to the observation of pundits last week when the governor tabled before the House of Assembly an proposed budget for the 2024 which contained nothing but opportunities to further enrich himself (Makinde) and few individuals who are very to him. In the document, N434.2billion is quoted as the total budget for the year but N260billion is the total amount of funds expected in revenue leaving over N170billion in deficit. How realistic is this?
“A whopping sum of N21billion is budget for the Office of the Governor without any breakdown of what they intend to do with it in specific term while another N485million would go Cabinet and Security service. The ruins in public facilities, in the state, is feasible in the deplorable condition of all the monumental structures in the Agodi State Secretariat while the Government House has been reduced to eyesore now harboring all sort of strange persons. Yet money has been allocated and released for the maintenance of these facilities since 2020 but there is nothing to show for it.
“Again, the governor attempted to play a fast one on the public by quoting 20 per cent allocation to education but the pertinent question is; what happened to the previous allocations because virtually all public schools have suffered neglect while pupils carry chairs and table to classrooms from home. Parents pay learning materials such books as well as WAEC and NECO fees on their own.
“As if that was not enough, questions are being asked as to what success Oyo has recorded in the area of agriculture, commerce, job creation and so in the last four years. We rely on the North for beans, tomato, peppers, cow, onions, rice etc when we have massive arable land and human resources. Ogun and Lagos states remain manufacturing and industrial hubs but in Oyo state, investors are being chased away with multiple taxes and confiscation of their land and properties as this was the case of one Ayo Mafikuyomi whose N800million factory was seized by the state government recently in Ibadan.” Oyo APC alleged.
