Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji yesterday presented a budget estimate of N159,572,481,915.61 to the state House of Assembly for the 2024 fiscal year.
He said the overall focus of the budget christened ,” Budget of Sustainable Growth and Development” is to sustain the quest for Shared Prosperity through the six-pillar agenda of government and represents the plan, policies and programmes designed to achieve the collective aspirations of the good people of the state.
Governor Oyebanji while presenting the budget at House of Assembly complex in Ado Ekiti said his administration is undeterred in its commitment to ensure speedy infrastructural development in the state.
According to him, “The Government, in 2024, will embark on a good number of capital projects without compromising the immediate well-being of the people.
“To this end, the sum of N71,994,898,233.20 has been proposed for capital expenditure in the 2024 fiscal year. This represents 45% of the total Budget size. The amount has also been allocated among the six pillars of the administration.
“On the other hand, our administration also takes cognisance of the importance of good governance. This must pervade all Government programmes and activities. This informed our decision to make Governance a key pillar of the development agenda of administration. It is important to oil the wheels of Governance for quality service delivery, therefore, the sum of N87,577,583,682.41 has been proposed as Recurrent Expenditure in 2024”.
He added that the amount earmarked for recurrent expenditure, which represents 55% of the total expenditure, is to cater for the day-to-day running of government.
Governor Oyebanji stated that his administration will continue to comply with the Open Government Policy and adopted the bottom-up approach to develop the draft fiscal document.
“To ensure inclusivity, I held citizen engagement/Town Hall meetings in the three Senatorial Districts. This was to take inputs from the populace towards the proposed 2024 Budget and receive feedback on the programmes and activities of Government, and ensure sustainability of the projects/programmes implemented in the communities”.
