Taiwo Oluwadare, Ibadan
Oyo State Governor Oluseyi Makinde has declared the readiness of his administration to earn the people’s trust by engendering open governance.
Delivering the keynote address at the town hall meeting on 2020 Budget held at Atiba Hall, Oyo town, the Governor, represented by the Chief of Staff, Oyo State, Chief Bisi Ilaka, mentioned that his government is set to redefine governance and establish a strong foundation for open government initiative.
The essence of the stakeholders meeting, it was stated, was to give everyone a sense of entitlement and for the Oyo State government to be adequately informed about the needs of each local government prior to the preparation and implementation of the 2020 budget.
Makinde restated his government’s goal to develop a State Strategic Development Plan that will span 20 years for his administration and successive ones to follow.
“As you are aware, the government is faced with the reality of low Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and an overdependence on Federal Allocation, which calls for a rethink to make our budget as realistic and as achievable as possible. This led to a more realistic one,” Makinde’s statement read.
“It is worthy to note that the last State Development blueprint expired in 2012 and since then budgeting had been done without a corresponding development plan driving our budget preparation. To curb the wholesome trend, we have commenced the process of preparing the State Strategic Development Plan that should span the next 20 years.
“We will make the preparation as inclusive as possible to ensure a developmental framework that successive administrations would gladly embrace and implement.
He added, “We also want to strengthen the bond between government the good people of Oyo State by seeking their input into the year 2020 budget. Apart from ensuring that resource allocations are geared towards impactful projects and programmes implementation that will improve the welfare of citizenry, we also desire to build your confidence in government.”
Reacting to the memoranda submitted by all local governments in Oyo Zone, the Governor assured that all documents submitted will be immediately processed by the ministry of budget and planning and forwarded to the appropriate ministries for implementation.
Addressing specifically the provision of motorable roads across the zone, Makinde stated that a branch of Oyo State Road and Maintenance Agency (OSROMA) has been created for the zone with an increased state allocation of N5 billion.
Also reacting to a comment on the total takeover of the Ladoke Akintola University, (LAUTECH) and its involvement in the 2020 budget, Makinde revealed that a committee has been inaugurated to work on how Oyo State can have full ownership of the institution.
Earlier in his speech, Oyo State Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Barr. Adeniyi Farinto, noted that the meeting is an epochal event as it is the first time in the history of the state in which the government and the people will seat to deliberate on projects to be implemented with the yearly budget.
He added that the Seyi Makinde administration, as promised, will continue to be open and transparent in its policies as well as accomodating the needs of the people.
Also present at the event were state commissioners; Senior Special Adviser to the Governor on Economic Affairs; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, traditional rulers, representatives of various local government, artisans, market women, civil societies, handicapped, NGOs amongst others.