The Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Chief Olamide Oladiji, has said that the assembly would critically look at 2024 budget performance of all ministries, departments and agencies in the state.
Oladiji stated this on Wednesday while declaring open the defence of 2025 budget.
The News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN) reports that Gov. Lucky Aiyedatiwa had on Tuesday presented the appropriation bill of N655,230 billion for the 2025 fiscal year before the legislature.
The speaker explained that the legislative body would continue to monitor money appropriated to all MDAs for proper scrutiny and the betterment of the state.
He urged the MDAs to cooperate with the assembly in ensuring that the budget was passed within short period of time.
Also, the Chairman of the House’s Committee on Finance and Appropriation, Mr Oluwole Ogunmolasuyi, said that hearing on the appropriation bill was in line with the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).
He said that the constitution empowered the legislature to appropriate and monitor fiscal estimates of the state.
Ogunmolasuyi added that the budget christened “Budget of Recovery” was designed to reflect the much anticipated hope for economic recovery.
He said that the committee would not entertain any frivolous request under any guise as ‘we are working towards actualising a workable and performing budget.’
According to him, the committee will carry out a realistic scrutiny of the budget documents in the context of current realities before eventual approval.
Ogunmolasuyi promised that the budget, when passed, would reposition the state’s economy from the current financial quagmire by ensuring full compliance with the financial rules, openness and adoption of world best practices.
“On this premise, I will like to urge all the major players in the implementation of this fiscal instrument to continually strive hard.
“We should ensure the sustenance of all government’s policies and at the same time improve on them in order to further engender accountability, prudency and transparency, which are the hallmarks of this present administration in the state.
“I urge the Internal Revenue Service and all revenue generating bodies to work assiduously for aggressive revenue drive so as to ensure that the budget is achievable and realistic.
“ I am of a strong opinion that this budget would be fully implemented by the state government if passed into law,” he said.
Speaking after defending his ministry’s budget proposal, the Comissioner for Justice, Dr Kayode Ajulo, said that there was need to increase the revenue of the ministry through internal generated revenue ( IGR) for dispensation of justice.
Ajulo said that the ministry was bent on rendering services to people of the state, adding that there were some services that were privileges and not rights.
“The ministry is actually rendering services to ensure more peaceful atmosphere for the entire Ondo State, but there are some services that are not of rights but privileges.
“For instance, that of chieftaincy issue, it is a privilege because not all of us can be kings. Anyway it’s a still a proposal.
“When it comes to freedom, defending people, the ministry will not charge you for that and for those that are rights, we will not charge,” he said. ( NAN)
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