Clement Adeyi, Osogbo
Osun State governor, Gboyega Oyetola has presented N152, 756, 088, 830.00 budget for the 2019 fiscal year.
The budget , which was titled the “Budget of Hope,” had N15,870,175,600.00 10.39 as recurrent, while N91,957,496,420.00 65.43 stood for capital expenditure.
While presenting the proposal, Oyetola described the budget as a unique one because it was drawn from a carefully-crafted development document.
Oyetola vowed that the budget would be objectively and faithfully implemented.
He appealed to the people of the state to continue to cooperate with his government in the arduous task of transforming Osun into a state of pride.
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He said: “This budget is a product of the collective inputs of broad-based stakeholders, strategic thinking and world-class ideas on economic renewal and re-engineering. By its content and strategy, it is home-based, people-owned and 21st-Century-thinking propelled. By this strategy, the people have spoken and given direction on the way forward. This Budget of Hope is, therefore, a product of people’s hope. We shall put all measures in place to give life to the hope they expect.
“It is important to state that all the programmes and projects outlined and discussed in this presentation cannot be achieved by government alone. I, therefore, seek the collaboration of the private sector, development partners, NGOs, civil society organizations, among others, for better and effective implementation of this budget.
“Our activities will be guided by the highest regard for the people. I, therefore, implore all the good people of the State of Osun to pray for the success of our administration in 2019.
“Finally, I wish to appeal to our dear honourable members of the House of Assembly to give, as usual, speedy consideration to the budget proposal so that its implementation can commence early enough in the new fiscal year.
“We are determined to set the State of Osun on the path of real and time-tasted growth through unprecedented investment in the core sectors – agriculture, mining, tourism, commerce and industry, infrastructure, education, health and technology – to sustainably drive our economy.
“To achieve this, we shall employ strategic thinking and planning, which experts aver are drivers of sustainable development. We shall hold The State of Osun Economic Summit in the First Quarter of next year to review our development blueprint with a view to coming out with a policy document that will drive our policies.
“In spite of the biting country-wide economic dire straits and uncertainties, the State of Osun is still standing and gradually matching toward the path of development. It is evident that with patience on the part of our people and the doggedness on our part, the people of the State of Osun shall smile again.
The paradoxes of resource-challenged but prosperous nations like Israel and Malaysia, and resource-abundant but poor nations like ours, have proved beyond a doubt that prosperity and development answer more to focused and responsible leadership than abundant resources.
“The former paradox – the Israel and Malaysia example – not only offers but confirms our staunch belief that, given the committed leadership this Administration is bringing to the table, and the unwavering following we have been getting from the citizenry, the State of Osun is poised to set the pace in economic independence.
“We shall put strategies in place to further promote food security, employment and create wealth by investing heavily in agriculture, mining, infrastructure, commerce and industry, education and technology. We shall also introduce creative and prudent management of our resources, block leakages and eliminate wastages. We will assemble the brightest of the best minds to drives our policies. We will provide equitable opportunities and people-oriented governance.
We are committed to consolidating on the various ongoing projects and programmes by delivering on the following: Continuous investment in education, healthcare and social welfare, unwavering attention to security of lives and property; people-oriented and good governance system that is founded on zero tolerance for corruption;
Rebuilding, maintaining, and expanding infrastructure in water supply, electricity and road networks and to accelerate economic growth and job creation;
Reading the governor’s budget presentation , the speaker of the House, Rt Hon Najeem Salaam, said that the presentation of the 2019 budget was significant being the first time that the governor would perform such an exercise as the head of the executive.