Ondo government awards N41.98b capital projects in 18 councils

The Ondo State government yesterday said it had awarded 704 capital projects worth N41.979 billion across the 18 local government areas in a bid to achieve greater percentage in the implementation of the 2018 budget.

The Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Emmanuel Igbasan, made the announcement at a town hall meeting in the northern senatorial district on 2019 budget preparation.

Stakeholders who attended the meeting include traditional rulers, members of the House of Assembly, top officials of local governments, representatives of civil society organizations, artisans, youths and students.

At the event held at the Conference Hall of Akoko North East secretariat, Ikare Akoko, Igbasan said the 704 projects were marked out between January and September, aside other projects being implemented through direct labour by ministries and extra ministerial departments.

The commissioner revealed that 347 projects worth N29.89 billion had been awarded in the six councils that constitute the district, out of which N5.89 billion had been paid to contractors handling the jobs.

According to him, the meeting was initiated to harness the inputs of different groups in the society into the yearly fiscal policy of the state government. This will enable the government to get feedback from the people on what have been or should be done to expand the fiscal space of the state.

Igbasan said it would also create wealth for the people and reverse the prevalent infrastructural deficit towards building a better and brighter future for the upcoming generations.

He noted that with the signing of the Ondo State Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2017 by the present administration, it has become mandatory for government to seek the inputs of the people or their representatives into the preparation of the yearly budget.

The permanent secretary in the ministry, Mr. Bunmi Alade, noted that in recent years, the focus on budget has assumed greater prominence with increased democratization, citizens participation and the desire to respond to development challenges.