Car maintenance gets N462m in Ondo lawmakers’ budget, transport N791m

A total of N462 million has been budgeted for the maintenance of cars belonging to the Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, the Deputy Speaker, and the other 24 legislators in the state amid the economic hardship in the country.

The provision was made in the 2025 approved budget of the state, one year after the Speaker, Olamide Oladiji, and his Deputy, Abayomi Akinruntan, were presented with brand-new SUVs by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa.

According to the fiscal document tagged ‘Budget of Recovery,’ which was seen by The Guardian, the office of the Speaker was provided with N77 million for the maintenance of motor vehicles and transport equipment, while the office of the Deputy Speaker and the State Assembly were allocated N35 million and N350 million, respectively, for the same purpose.

Also, in the budget passed by the Assembly in December 2024, the lawmakers, including the Speaker and the Deputy, will expend N235 million on telephone calls, as the State Assembly will be receiving N200 million, the Speaker N28 million, and the Deputy N7 million for telephone charges in 2025.

A further search of the budget revealed that a total of N791 million was budgeted for local and international travel and transport for the three composite offices.
The Speaker was allocated N181 million, the Deputy Speaker N90 million, and the legislature N520 million.

N200 million was earmarked for the printing of non-security documents for the State House of Assembly, while the sum of N25 million was budgeted for the office of the Speaker and N6 million for the office of the Deputy Speaker.

The breakdown, which was published under serial numbers 11202300100, 11200300100, and 11202100100 in the budget, shows that N300 million was earmarked for all the lawmakers, with separate welfare packages pegged at N26 million and N11 million for the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, respectively.

Additionally, N33 million was budgeted for electricity charges in the office of the Speaker, N8 million for the office of the Deputy Speaker, and N300 million for the entire House of Assembly.

With N20 million allocated for hotel accommodation for the legislators, N50 million was set aside for their refreshments and meals, while the Speaker and his Deputy will receive N25 million and N10 million, respectively.