Oyo State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant Seyi Makinde has urged residents to brace themselves for harder times because the 2018 budget cannot meet their expectations.
In a statement by Prince Dotun Oyelade, on behalf of the Seyi Makinde Organisation, the aspirant said the debt profile of the Governor Abiola Ajimobi administration had limited the options of good governance.
He noted that there is little left in the government’s coffers to provide vital intervention in crucial areas affecting the people, such as health, education and agriculture.
The statement said the state had exceeded its debt gross revenue and consolidated debt/net revenue by about 339.56 per cent and 410.86 per cent, according to the Fiscal Responsibility Commission.
It added that as at 2016, Oyo debt was N116 billion according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which makes the administration the highest debtor since creation of the state in 1976.
“What government does in the last few years, according to the statement, is to service the excessive debt by accumulating more debt and using same for recurrent expenditure, such as salaries and capital projects that bring no direct impact on the lives of the poor,” the statement said.
It said according to the CBN Bulletin Vol 27, Oyo State had been running a deficit budget for years, which put the state in consistent decline with a devastating impact on workers, pensioners and others.
The statement appealed to Governor Ajimobi to encourage the House of Assembly to trigger a motion of discontinuity of the budget and redirect the budget to suit people’s needs.
Makinde said the economic downturn had increased the number of ill people, “who cannot get any relief from our hospitals, while our able-bodied young ones cannot find work because of government’s misplaced priorities.”
Leave a Reply