The Ondo State House of Assembly says that the 2023 budget for the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC) will improve the well-being and standard of oil- producing areas.
Mr Akintomide Akinrogunde, the Chairman of the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, stated this on Thursday at the 2023 Budget Defence by the commission in Akure.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the state government had earmarked N14 billion to the commission for the 2023 fiscal year.
He said the Commission was established with a major mandate of transforming both the infrastructure and the physical looks of the oil-producing area in the state.
He said there was the need for the agency to appear before the committee so that all necessary inputs could be considered for the passage of the budget.
The chairman, House Committee on OSOPADEC, Mr Abayomi Akinruntan, appealed to the team to make sure that they submitted whatever was required to fast track the process and pass the appropriation bill into law as soon as possible.
He added that if there was cooperation from all major stakeholders, the budget when passed would impact positively on the mandate area.
Also, the state Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr Emmanuel Igbasan, said that the ministry served as a consultant to OSOPADEC, saying the appropriation bill was aligned with the national guidelines on the oil-producing area in the country.
Igbasan, who was represented by Mr Stephen Aworere, added that the document was also well prepared in a way that should be presented.
In his response, the Chairman of OSOPADEC, Mr Sam Erejuwa, said that the budget was termed “A budget of Renewed Hope in line with Mr Governor’s agenda.
Erejuwa said that, “We are more positioned to this budget to respond to very crucial environmental disaster happening with the mandate area.
“70 per cent of the budget is to fund capital project and that will impact the area and we will see more development before the year ends,” he said. (NAN)
