Makinde presents N310b 2023 Budget to Oyo House

By Stephen Gbadamosi

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, on Thursday, presented the 2023 Appropriation Bill to the state House of Assembly.

The budget, which is in a sum of N310 billion, was tagged ‘Budget of Sustainable Development.’

In the budget, the education sector has the second largest allocation with 18.78 per cent in the sum of N58.213 billion.

Equally, a sum of N36.3 billion was earmarked for the health care sector in the state, which is 11.7 per cent of the total budget, DailyTimesNGR gathered.

The governor noted that the allocation for the health sector represented 100 per cent increase over that of last year, saying that the reason for this was the N22 billion concessionary loan from the French Government.

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“This loan will be used for upgrading our primary and secondary healthcare facilities,” the governor stated.

He told the House that “three years ago, when we made our first full budgetary presentation to you, we came with a budget that would support accelerated development in Oyo State.

“That budget required a huge investment in infrastructure that would quickly grow our economy. Our total capital budget for that year was over N100 billion, just a little below 48 per cent of the total proposed budget for the 2020 fiscal year.

“In 2020, we returned with the 2021 Budget of ‘Continued Consolidation.’ In that budget, over N130 billion was proposed for capital expenditure. Our goal was to build on our plans for accelerated development.

“Last year, we moved from the ‘Budget of Continued Consolidation’ to the ‘2022 Budget of Growth and Opportunities.’ And for the first time, our proposed capital expenditure, slightly below 53 per cent, was more than our recurrent expenditure. It was clear that we were moving in the right direction.

“Mr Speaker, Sir, honourable members of the House, these are not just figures. We have moved our people from poverty to prosperity. In the last three years, every zone of Oyo State has been touched with development projects that reflect our focus on the four pillars of education, economy, healthcare and security.

“In education, we have consistently maintained an 18 to 22 per cent budgetary allocation. Through this, we have regularly paid the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) counterpart funding and received matching grants, enabling us to execute numerous projects in the education sector.

“Through the Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board (Oyo SUBEB), we completed 56 model schools and constructed and renovated over 700 classroom blocks across Oyo State, among other projects.

“We have grown our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) by over 90 per cent through partnerships with the private sector and development agencies.

“We ensured that the only business the Oyo State government got involved in is the business of creating an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive.

“We focused on our comparative advantage in agribusiness to grow our economy. We attracted private investments in Oyo State of over N26 billion and over $125 million in development partners’ blended funds, DailyTimesNGR gathered.

“Our pilot Agribusiness Industrial Hub at Fasola, Oyo West Local Government Area, is nearing completion. At the same time, we just signed a $37 million investment in developing a Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone (SAPZ) with the support of the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Akinyele Local Government Area.

“We have 30 per cent of the budget for that project included in this 2023 Budget proposal.

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“We also concentrated on reducing our infrastructural deficit. Infrastructure has received the highest chunk of our budgetary allocation for the past three years. Today, we can say with pride that our dear state is interconnected through road constructions and rehabilitation.

“From Ibadan to Iseyin through the 65 kilometer Moniya – Ijaiye – Iseyin road from Oyo to Iseyin through the 34.85 kilometre Oyo – Iseyin road, from Iseyin to Ogbomoso through the 76.67 kilometre Iseyin – Fapote – Ogbomoso road and from Ibadan to Eruwa through the soon to be flagged-off 58 kilometre Omi Adio – Ido – Eruwa road.

“We have also started the construction of the bridges and interchanges on the 32 kilometre East-Wing of the Ibadan Circular Road.

“We have delivered two of the proposed four bus terminals in Ibadan at Challenge and Ojoo. We have delivered the main bowl of the Lekan Salami Sports Complex, Adamasinbga.

“And I am delighted to report that for the first time in 28 years, we brought back international football to Ibadan when the Olympic Eagles played against Tanzania last Saturday.

“Of course, our Nigerian team made it more historic by winning two-zero against their opponents.

“Also, as promised in our 2019 Budget presentation, we are well on our way to having one Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) per ward in Oyo State. As of the last count, 206 PHCs have been completely renovated, and we have already started equipping them.”

The governor went further to state many more areas his government had impacted positively on the fortune of the state.