Akeredolu presents N190b budget, Ajimobi N285b for 2019

Ondo State governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has presented a budget of N190.023 billion for the 2019 fiscal year to the House of Assembly, tagging it ‘Budget of Advancement’.

According to him, the state has been paying debt, especially the six months salary arrears left by the immediate past administration, promising to pay the outstanding month soon.

While presenting the budget at the floor of the assembly yesterday, Akeredolu said it was a consolidation on the 2018 ‘Budget of Progress’.

The 2018 budget was later hiked to N181,425,540,000 last February to meet infrastructural deficit with the highest capital expenditure in recent times.

The 2019 budget, with N82.179 billion for recurrent expenditure and N87.906 billion for capital projects, represents an increase of 4.7 per cent.

Akeredolu noted that the estimate was based on $55 per barrel of crude oil and average production of 1.60 million barrels per day with exchange rate of N305 to a dollar and inflation rate of 13.5 per cent.

He projected that N45.5 billion is expected from statutory allocation, N25 billion from internally-generated revenue (IGR) while N12.019 billion is expected from the value-added tax (VAT).

Also, Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State yesterday presented a N285 billion budget to the Oyo State House of Assembly for 2019.

Presenting the appropriation bill tagged ‘Budget of Sustainability’ at the plenary presided over by the speaker, Joshua Ojo, the governor said he would complete ongoing projects in the state before leaving office.

In the budget, N163.47 billion (57.36 per cent) was allocated for capital projects while N121.53 billion (42.64 per cent) is for recurrent expenditure.

The governor highlighted the priority sectors of the budget to include infrastructure, education, agriculture, health, environment, housing and urban development.

Hence, N41 billion is allocated to the ministry of works and transport.

“In year 2019, the commitment of government in terms of provision of road infrastructure is to ensure completion of all on-going projects and make these available for use to further improve the socio-economic well-being of the good people of Oyo State,” he said.