Oyo 2024 budget: Education gets largest allocation with 20.88 per cent

In a decisive move reinforcing his administration’s unwavering commitment to prioritise education, Governor Makinde has allocated 20.88% of the budget towards this critical sector.

Emphasising the continuity of this significant allocation, the Governor underscored its alignment with UNESCO standards, drawing commendations for consistently meeting and even surpassing the global benchmark for educational budgetary provisions.

The Governor, who presented the N434,221,765,938.79 budget proposal to the 32-man House of Assembly presided over by the speaker, Rt. Hon. Adebo Ogundoyin said his government has been proactive in responding to the hardship people face.

He added that the administration has taken all the necessary steps to ensure that the 2024 budget addresses the economic challenges of the coming year and that his vision of sustainable development in the state is achieved.

The Governor, who commended the House of Assembly for its cooperation with his administration over the past years, urged the lawmakers to speedily consider the 2024 Appropriation Bill for passage and the benefit of Oyo State people.

The total capital expenditure in the proposed budget estimates stands at N222,337,320,199.85, while the total recurrent expenditure is 211,884,445,738.94, with education, infrastructure, and health sectors getting the lion’s share of the allocations.

The Governor said, “I am happy to come before you today to present the 2024 Appropriation Bill. This year’s presentation is special in two significant ways. First, this is the first full budget presentation since our re-election into office in March 2023.

“This budget presents an opportunity for us to show how we are matching our promises as stated in our roadmap for sustainable development 2023–2027 with definite action plans.

“Second, this budget is a chance for our administration to show our responsiveness to the current economic headwinds. You will agree that the effects of the removal of fuel subsidies and dollar-Naira currency by the federal government have brought hardship to our people. Therefore, this budget proposal will cover specific projects, policies, and actions that, when implemented, will cushion the impact of the economic issues that we are currently faced with.”

He added, “It is against this backdrop that we have tagged this budget ‘Oyo State Budget of Economic Recovery’. It is my honour to present a total budget of N434,221,765,938.79. The total capital expenditure is N222,337,320,199.85, while the total recurrent expenditure is 211,884,445,738.94.

“What you will immediately notice is that we have been able to, once again, achieve a budget where capital expenditure is about 2.4 per cent higher than recurrent expenditure. We believe that the growth of our economy is dependent on the fiscal decisions we take regarding our capital expenditure. Therefore, we are focusing on projects that will yield positive results for our economy in our areas of comparative advantage.”

He added, however, that the government has also increased the sum allocated to education from N58 billion in 2023 to N90 billion in the 2024 budget proposal to help reduce the infrastructure and manpower deficit in the sector.

The Governor equally stated that his government’s commitment to building infrastructure that targets the economic expansion of the state will continue in 2024, noting that the government will continue the 110-kilometer Ibadan Circular Road project and other ongoing projects such as the Saki-Ogbooro-Igboho Road and the Olorunsogo-Akanran-Dagbolu Road, among others.

Governor Makinde also seized the opportunity of the budget presentation to reassure residents of Ibadan, the state capital, on the plan to construct internal roads within the metropolis, noting that the contract for the projects would be awarded within the next few days and contractors mobilised to sites on some of the inner roads.

In the health sector, Governor Makinde said the state government would go ahead with the upgrade and equipment of healthcare facilities with funds allocated in the budget, adding that the state government would also work with international organisations and development agencies to ensure that secondary and tertiary health care facilities receive the necessary attention in bringing them up to standard.

“Mr Speaker and the Honourable Members of the 10th Assembly, you will note the same marginal increase of about N4bn in the allocation to agriculture. You will recall that we have initiated an input distribution package for our smallholder farmers under the SAfER initiative.

“We also work with the World Bank to provide input for our smallholder farmers under the Oyo State Cares programme. We plan to build on the various interventions we have introduced to help them.

“At the same time, we will, in the next few months, be completing work on the Fashola Agribusiness Industrial Hub. I am happy to report that the work done has further revealed the economic benefits of locating projects around our areas of comparative advantage.

Because of this project, the Oyo Zone has been opened up for more business, as this axis now hosts large and medium-scale agribusinesses. The Oyo-Iseyin road construction, which was commissioned in September 2023, is also driving businesses to this zone,” the governor added.

In his address, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Ogundoyin, commended the governor for the steps he took to rebuild the state under Omituntun 2.0, adding that the governor has set out a new order of transformation towards sustainable development in the state.

He assured, on behalf of his colleagues, that the 2024 budget proposal would be given accelerated consideration.

The event was attended by the Deputy Governor, Barr. Bayo Lawal; the former Deputy Governor and National Deputy Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja; the former Deputy Governor, Engr. Hamid Gbadamosi; the Chief Judge of Oyo State, Mrs. Iyabo Yerima; the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Olanike Adeyemo; the Chief of Staff, Otunba Segun Ogunwuyi; the Head of Service, Mrs. Olubunmi Oni; and commissioners.

Also in attendance were members of the State Elders’ Council and State Advisory Council, Dr. Saka Balogun, Elder Wole Oyelese, Senator Monsurat Sunmonu, and Hon. Babatunde Oduyoye.

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