Blocking leakages key to successful 2024 budget implementation — Ogun gov

Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has attributed the successful implementation of the 2024 budget to an increase in funds due to the effective maximisation of more revenue areas and blockage of leakages in the system.

The governor stated this during the town hall meeting on the 2025-2027 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and 2025 Budget for Ogun West Senatorial District held at Ilaro.

Represented by the Chief Economic Adviser and Commissioner for Finance, Mr Dapo Okubadejo, Prince Abiodun noted that the 2024 budget has already achieved 80 per cent implementation, ascribing the success to the various reforms embarked upon by the state government.

Abiodun said: “Putting the record straight, before our emergence in 2019, budget implementation was below 40 percent, but the present administration has moved it up to an average of 75 percent.

“Implementation of the 2024 budget is 80 per cent, and that of last year was also 80 per cent. We had put in place various mechanisms for the execution of the budget, and these mechanisms are in line with our pillars of development. We also put in place delivery mechanisms and strategies to ensure the variant of most of the budget.

“Also, we have embarked upon a lot of reforms to block leakages and improve the efficiency of service delivery. We also looked at other revenue areas; we have embarked on massive digitalization to enhance our revenue in those areas without necessarily overtaxing our people.”

He added that his administration leveraged the competitive and comparative advantages of the State and established a few ministries and agencies that helped in boosting the state revenue.

The governor further explained that the introduction of Medium Revenue Strategies, Medium Term Expenditure Framework reforms in the payment for seamless operations to block leakages, as well as regular meetings to monitor all reforms, were parts of measures aimed at improving the state’s revenue.

He averred that infrastructure like the cargo airport and the flagging off of the Inland Dry Port and others were put in place to attract more investors to the state.

Abiodun stated that Ogun West Senatorial District has benefited from the over 600 kilometres of road constructed by his administration in the last five years, listing some of them to include the GRA road at Ota, Ilaro-Owode, Atan-Lusada-Agbara, Oke-Irija-Ilobi, among others.

The governor acknowledged Ogun West as not only the home of industries but the food basket of the State.

He described the meeting as a critical engagement aimed at providing opportunities for the people to press home their demands and aspirations, as feedback is not only important to the MTEF but also to the 2025 budget.

Also speaking, the Commissioner for Budget Planning, Mr. Olaolu Olabimtan, noted the invaluable contributions to the previous budgets by the people of the State, saying the people’s inputs would go a long way in putting together the 2025 budget.

The Olu of Ilaro and Chairman, Ogun State Council of Obas, Oba Kehinde Olugbenle, represented by the Onimeko of Imeko, Oba Benjamin Olanite, called for the reconstruction of more roads in the area to improve the economic activities of the people.

In the same vein, representatives of different organisations and groups urged the government to consider more road construction in the senatorial district in the proposed budget.