Fayose presents N98.6bn ‘farewell budget of accomplishment’
Governor Fayose
Governor Fayose
GOVERNOR Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, on Tuesday, presented a budget of N98.6 billion to the state’s House of Assembly for the 2018 fiscal year.
Governor Fayose described the budget as a “farewell budget” which he tagged “budget of accomplishment” and had said its main intent was to ensure the completion of ongoing capital projects in the state.
Fayose said of the N98.6 billion budget, recurrent expenditure was put at N66.4billion, representing 67 percent of the budget while N32.1 billion was budgeted for capital expenditure, representing 33 percent.
He explained that “the 2018 budget is for me to complete all ongoing projects because I won’t leave any project uncompleted.”
He said the budget would be financed through federal allocation, internally-generated revenue, Value Added Tax (VAT), Paris Club refunds and sundry sources.
Reviewing the 2017 budget, Fayose said the 2017 appropriation achieved 66 percent performance, saying in the area of specific achievements, he was “particularly satisfied to give explanatory information on the volume of self-evident success achieved by this administration in the preceding three years to the last year of my government in office.”
In the area of empowerment, Fayose said the stomach infrastructure of his administration was “designed to empower every Ekiti
person to prosper in their endeavours,” noting that “over the last three years, the scheme has intervened in the payment of hospital bills of indigent people across the state and equally made food available on their tables.”
He said some of the achievements included the “distribution of rice and cash worth N30million to the tailors, the artisans, beer and food sellers across the state” and “disbursement of N5,000 monthly stipend to about 10,000 less privileged people in the 16 local government areas in the state.”
Fayose also highlighted the “empowerment of about 2,000 artisans with a disbursement of N50,000 micro-credit each to improve their businesses across the 16 local government areas.”
Fayose, who was dressed in brown flowing attire with a cap he referred to as “presidential look”, contended that his appearing in ‘agbada’ was preparatory to his becoming the president of Nigeria, and also noted that the 2018 budget was his last as the governor of the state.
He said: “We are also committed to quality education because Ekiti came first in 2016 and 2017 in NECO and we have to sustain this. That is why I want to give Ekiti a man they can trust like me, a man that can be prudent in spending and sustain good taste because my deputy himself is a professor of Building Technology.
“Let me assure you, the Oja Oba will be commissioned by July next year, which is just a few days before the election and the flyover will be delivered by May, all in 2018. We are going to block leakages and ensure that salaries are paid. Just like I have said, I am not going to leave Ekiti and still be indebted to workers, that I can assure Ekiti people.”
In his welcome address, Speaker of the Assembly, Kola Oluwawole, assured that the appropriation bill would be given expeditious passage so that the state can kickstart its projects as early as possible next year.
Oluwawole said: “The country has learnt a lesson from the ongoing recession that it is wrong to put one’s eggs in one basket.
The economy is dependent solely on oil at the expense of solid minerals and agriculture.
“We know the resources of this state is limited but the lawmakers will not shy away from its oversight functions. We will support the governor to ensure prudent management of the lean resources available.”