Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde has signed the N438.4 billion budget, saying his administration will demonstrate total fidelity in the implementation of the budget and ensure that the state achieves its vision of a well-recovered economy.
The governor stated that the budget was prepared after the state had put into consideration the economic situation at the national level and the challenges facing the people.
The governor who spoke during the budget signing ceremony held at the Executive Chamber of the Governor’s Office, Agodi, Ibadan, the governor noted that the budget possesses robustness and demonstrates responsiveness to the situation on the ground.
He added that his administration inherited a budget performance of 35 per cent but succeeded in raising the bar to about 75 per cent in 2023, assuring residents of the state that the government would target 80 per cent budget performance in 2024.
The governor lauded the House of Assembly for its doggedness in scrutinising and passing the budget in good time, saying: “The content of this budget took into consideration the economic situations we are currently faced with, which started around the middle of the year.
“A new government came in; removed fuel subsidies and stopped the policy of pegging the US Dollar to a Naira and that created a lot of challenges for us.
“You would all recall that the labour unions were agitated and that is to show you the seriousness of the issues. And so, we had to reach out, appeal for understanding. But the outcome is that we gave a wage award, initially for six months and discussion is still ongoing.
“We have to find a more sustainable way to deal with what we are facing. So, this is a budget that will, apart from anticipating some of the things that will come up, have the robustness to demonstrate that we are quite responsive to what is going on.
“When we came in four years ago, we were faced with identical issues; we met on the ground the issue of new minimum wage and consequential adjustment and we dealt with it.’’
“So, this second tenure also, we are starting on a similar note; we are faced with problems that are still out there and we will address the problems and find lasting solutions.’’
