Sheriff Balogun in Abeokuta
Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, yesterday proposed N221.129billion budget for the 2017 fiscal year in which education has 21.28 percent of the total budget.
The governor disclosed this during the budget presentation tagged: ‘Budget of Repositioning’, to members of the state House of Assembly.
Amosun said N221.129billion proposed to be spent by the state next year represents an increase of 10.45 percent compared to last year’s budget, adding that the overall performance of 2016 budget was 56.2 percent.
He said the size of the budget was a reflection of his administration’s resolve to further minimise cost and maximise capacity to generate more revenues, noting that the sum of N102.82billion will be earmarked for recurrent expenditure while N118.306 billion would be spent on capital projects.
Speaking further, the governor explained that N47,054,500 billion which represents 21.28 percent of the total budget was proposed for education in order to accommodate the expansion and upgrading of facilities in all the state-owned primary, secondary and tertiary institutions.
Amosun, however, disclosed that 51.71 percent of the budget would be funded with the state internally generated revenue; 18.54 percent would be funded with money accrued from the federation account while capital receipt would take care of the remaining 29.75 percent of the proposed budget.
While saying his administration will continue to reposition the state economy, the governor said the state would continue to place greater emphasis on capital expenditure.
He said: “This budget mix will support both the maintenance of existing infrastructure and allow the continued execution of more capital projects.
“The proposed budget is to be allocated among our five cardinal programmes as follows: affordable qualitative education N47,054,500,000billion, 21.28 percent; efficient healthcare delivery N15,105,000,000billion, 6.83 percent; agricultural production/industrialisation N11,610,250,000b, 5.25 percent; affordable housing and urban renewal N28,574,625,000billion, 12.92 percent; rural and infrastructural development/employment generation N44,201,000,000billion, 19.99 percent and others N74,583,969,017, 33.73 percent.”
In his remark, the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. SuraJ Ishola Adekunbi, said the House would give all necessary attention to the budget proposal and ensure its speedy passage.
