NewsGov Abiodun Presents N472.26bn 2023 Budget

Gov Abiodun Presents N472.26bn 2023 Budget

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November 17, (THEWILL) – Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, on Thursday, presented a budget proposal of N472.26 billion before the State House Assembly for the year 2023.

Titled “Budget of Continued Development and Prosperity”, Abiodun said the budget would take his administration’s “Building Our Future Agenda Together”, to the next level.

He said that the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure takes the lion share of N129,371,366,122.38 billion, indicating 27% of the total budget.

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The governor made this known while presenting the appropriation bill to the Speaker, Hon. Olakunle Oluomo, at the Assembly Complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.

He divulged that his government would continue to accord priority to the completion of ongoing projects, especially those with revenue potentials that can enhance employment generation.

Abiodun also said that his administration would further give attention to projects that are consistent with priorities articulated in the State Economic Development Plan and Strategy 2021-2025, as well as those aligned with the seven thematic areas contained in the Medium-Term National Development Plan 2021-2025.

He stated that the 2023 budget, amid economic challenges, was prepared bearing in mind the very challenging world economy, weakened by the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, high inflation, high cost of crude oil prices, resulting to huge cost of PMS Subsidy, as well as continued crude oil theft and negative spill-over effects of the Russia-Ukraine war on food and dwindling federal revenues.

The governor said 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,

Breaking down the budget, Abiodun said a total of N201.84 billion is proposed recurrent expenditure, while the sum of N270.41 billion is set aside as capital expenditure.

He noted that the sum of N129,371,366,122.38 billion has been earmarked for works and infrastructure in 2023, which is the 27% of the entire budget.

The governor attributed the largest share in the budget to works and infrastructure, saying his administration had planned to implement schemes for power generation to improve and guarantee electricity supply to major cities, business clusters and estates; development of a dry port at Kajola.

He divulged that the works and infrastructure would also leverage on the existing rail network, rehabilitation, reconstruction and maintenance of roads across the state, completion of the Agro-Cargo Airport, procurement and installation of transformers state-wide, construction of pilot rural Road of 13.1km at Alapako-Oni and Mosa Junction; improvement and upgrading of other rural roads among other infrastructural projects.

Abiodun said that personnel cost, social contribution and social benefits, public debt charge and overhead cost will gulp N79.47 billion, N21.12 billion, N39.90 billion and N61.35 billion respectively, in the 2023 budget.

On the finance of the proposed budget, He said that the state is expected to generate an estimated revenue of N90 billion internally through the OGIRS, N120.25 billion from other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) totalling N210.25 billion.

The governor stressed that the state will achieve an IGR to GDP ratio of 3.7 percent, as the state is expected to receive a sum of N92 billion from the statutory allocation from the Federal Government, while N128.37 billion is expected as capital receipts comprising of internal and external loans, as well as grants and aids in 2023.

“The 2023 budget proposals manifest the issues we confront, as well as the necessary steps to overcome them in a sustainable manner. The expenditure policy of government in 2023 is designed to achieve the strategic objectives of the Ogun State Economic Development Plan and Strategy 2021-2025, including fiscal sustainability; human development; food security; improved business environment; energy sufficiency; improving transport infrastructure; and, promoting industrialisation, focusing on Small and Medium Scale Enterprises.

“We will continue to focus our public spending mix towards a capital expenditure that is higher than that of recurrent expenditure. We are convinced that increased investment in capital expenditure is our secured route to sustainable economic growth and development as a State.

“Against the backdrop of the challenging global and domestic economic environment, it is imperative that we strengthen our macroeconomic environment and address existing challenges as a State. The 2023 Appropriation, therefore, is a “Budget of Continued Development and Prosperity”, expected to achieve social cohesion that will continue to focus on equitable socio-economic growth and development state-wide.

“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.”

Abiodun, who noted that the infrastructure investments of his government are people-oriented and transformational with immense multiplier effects on the socio-economic development of the entire state, said that over 80 major roads and others (Federal roads inclusive) totalling 400km have been constructed, reconstructed or rehabilitated across the state.

He urged the leadership of the State House of Assembly to ensure that the 2023 budget proposal is thoroughly but expeditiously vetted and returned in earnest for his assent before January 1, 2023, emphasising that the budget contents emanated from the wishes of the Ogun people expressed at different budget town hall meetings.

“Mr Speaker and honourable members of the 9th Ogun State House of Assembly, as I lay before you the 2023 Appropriation Bill today, we must remind ourselves that this event is another symbolic representation of our joint mission towards the realisation of the Ogun State of our collective dreams. We have done it before. We can do it again. The challenges that are ahead of us in the coming year dictate that we should all move on more cooperatively to continue to deliver dividends of democracy to our people. We have covered a lot of grounds, but we must remind ourselves that there is always room for improvement. Time is of the essence and our people must see our commitment and sincerity to their security, peace, comfort, wellness and well-being”, he added.

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