Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Oyo Governor, Seyi Makinde, yesterday began a town hall meeting with people of the state in a bid to prepare a 2020 budget proposal that will be most suited to their needs and the overall development of the state.
The maiden town hall meeting was held at Emeritus Professor Theophilus Ogunlesi Multipurpose Hall, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, for Oyo South Senatorial District, which was attended by top government officials, traditional and religious leaders, leadership of community development associations and so on.
Makinde promised a similar town hall meeting would be held in Oyo town for Oyo Central next Tuesday for their inputs in the budget, and the meeting for Oyo North would also be held and their inputs would be captured in the budget proposal.
According to the governor, the last time such a town hall meeting was held over budget proposal was in 2012, saying: “This is the first in a series of town hall meetings where we will be listening to the people of Oyo State.
“Over the years, there has been a debate over which is the best approach to governance: A top bottom approach, which relies on leadership setting the goals and then breaking it down for implementation, or the bottom top approach where the citizens play a role in determining what the goals should be. We have opted for a hybrid of both,” he said.