By Fidelis David
The Ondo State 2022 budget estimate of over N191 billion yesterday passed the second reading at the plenary of the state House of Assembly.
The lawmakers at the plenary referred the budget proposal to committee level after the reading by the acting Clerk of the Assembly, Mr. Benjamin Jaiyeola.
The Speaker, Hon. Bamidele Oleyelogun, while calling for thorough job to be done, said: “All Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) must liaise with various Assembly committees for timely passage of the budget proposal.”
The state Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, on September 28, 2021, presented the budget proposal of N191.638 billion for the 2022 fiscal year to the state House of Assembly, tagged: ‘Budget of Economic Re-Engineering’.
The budget, which was transmitted to the House of Assembly by the state Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Wale Akinterinwa, on behalf of Akeredolu, was premised on the theme: ‘Industrialisation for Inclusive Growth, Empowerment and Wealth Creation’.
In the budget, a total of N102.106 billion was budgeted for recurrent expenditure; N79.621 billion is proposed to be expended on capital projects in the 2022 fiscal year; N13.872 billion voted for debt repayment, while N13.557billion for statutory transfer.
According to the governor, the budget, which represents an increase of 9.59 per cent over the 2021 budget, was based on the world economy, which is gradually but steadily emerging from the debilitating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Akeredolu said: “The policy thrust and priorities of the government in the next fiscal year is aimed at streamlining sectorial programmes and projects within the framework of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), and to further consolidate on the gains of this administration in the last four years as contained in the second term blueprint christened the Redeemed agenda.
“The varying competing needs of different sectors would be prioritised, and programmes/projects necessary to address them properly aligned within the Medium Term Sector Strategy (MTSS).
“To this end, the main objectives of the 2022 budget are to grow Independent Revenue (IR) by a minimum of 20 per cent every year from 2022 to 2024, improve the state fiscal performance to increase the state draw-down on federal government and international performance-based grants.”
