Ajimobi Presents N285bn Year 2019 Appropriation Bill

Ajimobi Presents N285bn Year 2019 Appropriation Bill

Oyo State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi on Monday presented N285 billion 2019 appropriation bill before the state House of Assembly.

Presenting the budget christened, “Budget of Sustainability”, the governor said the year 2018 had recorded significant achievements in every sphere. 

According to him, these achievements have been possible through the goodwill of all well-meaning people of the administration as well as the support and cooperation of the Honourable House for the past seven and half-years.

“Not surprisingly, our policies have precipitated the enabling environment for local and foreign investments in the state for economic growth and development. The target is to place Oyo State amongst the top ten economies in Africa by the year 2030”, he said.

Ajimobi who disclosed that the state government would consolidate on the 2018 achievements said “Education is more than a luxury; it is a responsibility that a society owes to itself.

“As a responsible government, we have redefined the education system with our Schools Governing Board (SGB) Participatory Management model which is currently being understudied for adoption by other governments in South West Nigeria.

“With over 300 interventions and a spend of over N2.5bn especially in schools infrastructural development across the state, the SGB model is our master stroke legacy for repositioning education in the state.

“Our tenure is also bequeathing a legacy of the best result in 18 years in the 2017 West African Senior School Certificate (WASSCE) with an average score of 54.18 per cent”, the governor said.

He disclosed that the three model schools in Ibadan and Saki which will be commissioned before the end of our administration were further pointers to the priority level, “we have devoted to the transformation of the education sector.

“Furthermore, our giant stride in filling the void of technical education and know-how with the establishment of the First Technical University Ibadan running a unique and tailor made curriculum is a milestone achievement of our Government and the first of its kind in sub Saharan Africa.

“It is our belief that the sustainability of our efforts will be made possible by the Oyo State Education Trust Fund which we established to provide financial muscle for education sector activities, especially infrastructural support”, he added.

In the health sector Ajimobi said, “our legacy in the area of health care service delivery is championed by the institution of the first State Health Insurance Scheme in Nigeria by our administration.

“The Oyo State Health Insurance Scheme is a comprehensive cover which provides access to effective health care service delivery to citizens at an affordable cost of N650:00 per month. I am delighted to inform you that this novel legacy of our government is currently being understudied by other governments in Nigeria.

“In sustaining our legacy in the health care sector which includes the provision of free medical services in our periodic Free Medical Missions which have rendered free medical services to over 1.5m people, we have instituted a N50bn Health Endowment Fund.

“The ongoing Health Endowment Fund was adopted as the financial catalyst for the much needed funds to improve infrastructure in the health sector. This is still work in progress”, he said.

The governor also noted the reversal in the trends of morbidity and mortality patterns in diseases of public health such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, saying that notable was the decline in malaria case incidence by 43 per cent in the outgoing year when compared to 2011.

“Similarly, the current prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the state saw a reduction from 3.0 per cent in 2013 to 1.9 per cent in 2015 (ANC survey 2014)”, he said.

He explained that the modest efforts have reviewed up the Oyo State economy to be the fourth largest economy in Nigeria and 18th largest GDP in Africa, saying, “We are also the fourth investment friendly state in Nigeria according to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS); with a four star rating for Investment friendliness by the Nigerian Export Promotions Commission.”

On the general election during which Nigerians would have the opportunity to elect another governor, members of the National and State Assemblies, Ajimobi implored the people of the state to make the election violence free.

He said every citizen within the voting age should endeavour to go out and vote in his/her representatives and leaders during the elections.