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When Abiodun presented N472.26b 2023 budget before Ogun Assembly

When Prince Dapo Abiodun assumed duty as the executive governor of Ogun State in 2019, little did the people of the state know that time had come for the real change they had been waiting for. More than three years down the line, and with few months to end his first tenure, the people of the Gateway State can now testify to Abiodun’s ability to make things better in the state and move it forward at this material time. With this in mind, it was not a surprise, when Dapo Abiodun presented the 2023 budget proposal of N472.26billion before the State House Assembly, with the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure taking a lion share of N129,371,366,122.38bn, indicating 27% of the total budget.

Abiodun, while presenting the appropriation bill at the chamber of the OGHA, Oke Mosan, Abeokuta, on Thursday, said that the 2023 fiscal proposal is christened ‘Budget of Continued Development and Prosperity’ as it will take his administration’s “Building Our Future Together” agenda from the current phase into another one.

The governor noted that his administration would continue to accord priority attention to the completion of ongoing projects, especially those with revenue potentials; that can enhance employment generation; projects that are consistent with priorities articulated in the State Economic Development Plan and Strategy 2021-2025 as well as projects that align with the seven thematic areas contained in the Medium- Term National Development Plan 2021-2025. He disclosed that the budget conception came with obvious economic challenges, hence, the preparation was done conscious of a very challenging world economy that is weakened by the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, high inflation, high crude oil prices resulting in huge cost of PMS Subsidy, continued crude oil theft and negative spill-over effects of the Russia- Ukraine war on food and dwindling federal revenues.

While declaring that the principal objective of his government in 2023 is to maintain and enlarge the state economic base by being strategic towards harnessing economic opportunities in the outer years of the current administration, Abiodun said a total of N201.84b is proposed recurrent expenditure, while as sum of N270.41b is set aside as capital expenditure.

According to the governor, personnel cost; social contribution and social benefits; public debt charge and overhead cost will gulp N79.47b, N21.12b, N39.90b and N61.35b, respectively in the 2023 budget. On the finance of the proposed budget, Abiodun said that the state is expected to generate an estimated revenue of N90b internally through the OGIRS, N120.25b from other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) totalling N210.25b. “Our internally generated revenue capacity in the comity of states is no longer in doubt.

More importantly, this administration’s budget model is revenue driven through the State Medium Term Revenue Strategy. In essence we will continue to focus on improving our revenue base. In doing this we will rely on the provisions of the section 23 (1 & 2) of the fiscal responsibility law, 2020 (as amended) with a view to increase the State’s Internally Generated Revenue. This will not only help to enhance the comprehensiveness and transparency, but increase the State’s revenue in due course”.

The governor stated. Abiodun, who recalled that the total projected funding for the 2022 budget was N450,986,566,678.04 comprising of N160,174,462,525.27 as Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and N290,812,104,152.77 as expected inflows from the Statutory Allocation, Value Added Tax, Capital Receipts and others, disclosed that “as of 30th September 2022, actual total funding was N193,731,370,976.27 representing 62.11 per cent of the pro-rated revenue target. We are poised to finish this year strongly at an expected performance of well over the 70% that was achieved last year”. Speaking on the performances of the Governor, a resident of the state, Mr. Bolaji Adeniyi, said that the state had never had it so good, adding that “our Governor has proven to be a round peg in a round hole.”

“Governor Dapo Abiodun has done well as the Chief Executive of Ogun State. We are enjoying his government and I believe that he will do more if given another chance to serve. “We can see the way he has transformed Ogun State within a short period and I know that better days are ahead for the state with him in the saddle,” he said. Also speaking, Mrs Yetunde Ajayi commended the Governor for his people- oriented programmes, saying that the residents of the state should expect more in the coming years if he is voted into office to serve.

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