Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State says the state’s 2023 budget performance is already at 75 per cent and should exceed 80 per cent by the end of the year.
Makinde gave his administration a pass mark while speaking at the Stakeholders’ Consultative and Engagement Meeting on 2024 Budget, held at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan.
He maintained that his administration would continue the tradition of engaging with residents of the state in the making of the state’s annual budget, noting that this would help the government to serve the people better.
He urged residents to take the engagement meetings, which would be held across the seven zones of the state, seriously as inputs from the meetings would be captured in the budget.
“It is not just a yearly ritual; it is an exercise that is extremely important. We are not coming around for this exercise just for the fun of it.
“The Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning said we are at 75 per cent performance and before the end of the year, we will surely go beyond 80 per cent; I believe this is a pass mark.
“Thoughtfully, the people of Oyo State gave us an opportunity to serve them better. So, we will continue to hold this stakeholders’ engagement under my watch for another three years.
“So, we must let our people know that this is not a jamboree. It is an avenue for our people to let us know what they want us to do for them,” he said.
The governor equally advocated for better synergy between the state and the local governments so they can serve the interests of the people better.
He said that the creativity of his government had ensured the construction of Oyo-Iseyin Road, a federal road, and the rebuilding of Akesan Market, Sasha Market and the Iseyin City Hall, which were local government projects.
Some of the issues raised by stakeholders at the event were the recruitment of teachers into primary schools and the completion of 351 primary health centres.
The governor assured that his administration would address all the issues in the next budget.
Speaking earlier, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Prof Musibau Babatunde, said the state government had been using the stakeholders’ meetings to influence its budget since 2019.
“So what we have been doing is all about people and I believe that with this particular one that we are trying to do, we are also going to get it right and move Oyo State forward,” he said.
In separate goodwill messages, the Director-General of DAWN Commission, Mr Seye Oyeleye; Chairman of the House Committee on Budget, Public Accounts, Finance and Appropriation, Hon Sunkanmi Babalola; and representative of Ibadan Main LGs Chairmen, Alhaji Ramoni Adepoju, commended the government for the budget initiative.
