Fayose Presents N98.6 Budget For 2018 Fiscal Year
Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, on Tuesday, presented a budget estimate of N98,611, 545, 040.22 billion to the State House of Assembly for 2018 .
The appropriation bill, christened ‘Budget of Accomplishment’,comprises of N66,442, 426,169.81 billion recurrent and N32,169, 118, 870.85 billion capital expenditure.
The governor, who made the presentation at the plenary presided over by the Speaker, Hon. Kola Oluwawole, said that the 2017 budgetary provision of N93.09 billion had a performance of 60 per cent as at October.
The budget estimate according to him will be financed through federal allocation, internally generated revenue, Value Added Tax, Paris club refunds and other sundry sources.
He posited that the budget was so named because it was designed for the completion of the flyover in Ado Ekiti, the Oja Oba market and other landmark projects initiated by his government when passed into law.
Fayose, who described the 2018 presentation as a valedictory session since it was the last budget he will present before the expiration of his tenure on October 15, 2018 said, “I am going to be the next president of this country. The doubting Thomases may not believe me, but surely I will get there because it is the will of God for me”.
The governor, who presented his deputy, Professor Kolapo Olusola before the lawmakers and the monarchs that were seated during the plenary, begged that, “you must support him for the governorship in the spirit of continuity and sustainability of the government’s policies”.
While adding that the budget accords him high priority to stomach infrastructure, payment of salaries and improvement of the state’s internally generated revenue 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, which is just a few days before 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”, he said.
The Speaker assured that the appropriation bill will be given expeditious passage, so that the state can kick start 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 are 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.”
