Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, on Friday, signed the 2024 Appropriation Bill of over N438.4 billion into law.
Makinde, while signing the bill at the Governor’s Executive Chamber, Agodi, Secretariat in Ibadan, the state capital, commended the legislators for the accelerated approval.
He stressed that the budget preparation took keen consideration of some of the current economic realities regarding the fuel subsidy removal and exchange rate challenges.
The governor, therefore, sought more understanding, support, and cooperation from critical stakeholders, especially from organised labour.
Makinde said, “The budget performance was not more than 35 per cent when I assumed office, and my administration has been able to double the figure. I want to assure you that the 2024 budget would target 80 per cent performance.”
Earlier, the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Rt Hon. Adebo Ogundoyin, said the House gave the fiscal document accelerated passage without compromising on due diligence having interfaced with all the ministries, departments and agencies of the state government before arriving at the final amount.
Ogundoyin said, “The total estimate is higher by N4,226,111,609,60 than the total amount presented by the governor. This is to cater for and further strengthen the activities of some sectors.
“Capital expenditure takes over 51 per cent of this budget while recurrent expenditure takes over 48 per cent. This is to enable the government to pay particular attention to projects that will enhance our economy thereby making the economic recovery target (which is the theme of the 2024 Budget) of His Excellency a realisable vision.
“It is not surprising that critical sectors got huge allocations. Education got the largest chunk of the 2024 budget. It is followed by Infrastructure while the Health and Agricultural sectors were third and fourth respectively. As lawmakers, we have keyed into the four major cardinal focuses of this administration, hence we gave priority attention to them while reviewing and scrutinizing the budget proposal.
“We are convinced that the total estimate will serve as both a stimulus and a catalyst for the economic recovery target of the governor. Please be assured that we will strengthen our oversight functions and ensure that the budget is strictly adhered to,” the speaker assured.
