For the first time since he assumed office, Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has presented the 2018 Budget to the Ondo State House of Assembly for approval. DAMISI OJO reports that while presenting the Appropriation Bill tagged, ‘Budget of Progress’ Akeredolu said though his administration met a worrisome state of affairs, the budget is designed to achieve stability, fiscal reprioritisation and consolidation for sustainable growth and development.
The hallowed chamber of the Ondo State House of Assembly erupted in loud ovation as Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu presented his first budget to the Assembly. Intermittently, he waited for the happy crowd to be quiet as he reeled off what some analysts have termed ‘Legacy Projects’ to be executed in the state’s 2018 Budget.
The governor was unpretentious about the determination of his administration to leave the state better than he met it, despite the huge challenges imposed on it by the dwindling fortunes of the nation’s economy.
The Appropriation Bill tagged “Budget of Progress”, totalling N171.268 billion, contained N81.521 billion for recurrent expenditures and N68.096 for capital expenditures.
“This Administration solicits the understanding of our people in the face of the challenges currently experienced by all due to paucity of funds. There has been no significant shift in the situation since we assumed office. It is with utmost confidence that I present this current budget to the House for realistic scrutiny and eventual approval,” Akeredolu said.
Looking up at the Assembly’s gallery where the people were, the governor narrated the sorry state of the state’s economy.
He said: ”On assumption of office Mr. Speaker, we met a worrisome state of affairs, with the economy of the state almost in comatose. We were confronted with very serious social, economic challenges. We were faced with severe economic uncertainties, with stunted economic growth, massive youth unemployment and under-employment. Aside from these, several of the roads and education infrastructure were in very poor state, the industrial sector was in a coma and above all, we met a highly demotivated workforce as a result of non-payment of salaries as and when due.”
In what appears to be a very ambitious and daring step, Akeredolu listed the projects to be executed in the new year to include dual carriage way of Ikare Township roads; completion of the dual carriage way of Owo Township roads; rehabilitation of Ugbe Road; rehabilitation of selected roads in Ose Local Government Area; rehabilitation of Ipele Township Road; dual carriageway of ‘A’ Division-Hospital Road-Olukayode Roundabout-Oke-Obere, Ijoka Road; construction of Oke-Obere, Ijoka in Akure to Idanre and construction of Gaga Community Road, Akure.
Others are the construction of Oke-Ogba Community Road, Akure; construction of Court of Appeal Road, Akure; rehabilitation of selected roads in Bolorunduro; rehabilitation of Igbara-Oke-Ibuji to Ondo/Ekiti State boundary; rehabilitation of roads in Isarun in Ifedore Local Government Area; dual carriage way of Akure–Iju-Ita-Ogbolu to Ondo/Ekiti State boundary; rehabilitation of selected roads in Ile-Oluji; construction of a fly-over (inter-change bridge) at Ore Junction; rehabilitation of selected roads in Odigbo; rehabilitation of selected roads in Okitipupa and the rehabilitation of selected roads in Igbotu and Igbobini.
Perhaps, the most resounding of these projects are the construction of a new access road to Idanre; the dualisation of Ikare Township Road and the construction of an overhead bridge in Ore.
These projects, when completed, will further open up the state to investors, while also cementing its position as the agricultural hub of the Southwest.
For these and other road projects, the government has set aside the sum of N15 billion in the 2018 fiscal year.
According to a political analyst, Dr. Kayode Fafisibe, the 2018 Budget presented by the governor is a masterstroke that will enshrine his name in the roll of leaders who came and impacted on the state.
Fafisibe is particularly happy about the construction of a new access road to Idanre. According to him, the town, aside from being a popular tourism destination, is growing into becoming the headquarters of cocoa farming and production.
“The construction of a new road to Idanre is one of the best decisions any government can take. It is a confirmation of the promise by Governor Akeredolu to open up the state to agriculture by constructing access roads to all major towns and villages. This will, no doubt, boost the economy of the state by making agriculture attractive to young farmers,” Fafisibe explained.
Also, the construction of a flyover at Ore will go a long way in solving the traffic gridlock experienced by travellers plying the popular intersection between the West and East of the country. Being the first of its type in the state, it will surely be a reference point of the governor’s achievements for ages to come.
“For most of us in this part, the construction of a flyover at Ore still sounds like a dream. It will solve whatever traffic problem that has persisted in the area for a long time. As a matter of time, I can tell you that it will form part of the legacies that will showcase Akeredolu’s success in Ondo State,” Ikuelogbon Bamitale, a transporter said.
For the people of the northern senatorial district, transforming Ikare Akoko Town roads into dual carriage way is a long-time dream realised. The town, generally regarded as the capital of Akoko land, remains one of the few major towns without dual carriage way.
It was a good piece of news for the people of Ikare and indeed, Akoko land, when Governor Akeredolu listed the town’s roads as one of the projects to transformed into dual carriage way this year.
Reacting to the news, the member representing Akoko North East and Akoko North West Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Friday Olemija, described it as the best thing to happen to Akoko people.
He said the project will further open up the entire Akoko land to developments, adding that, on completion of the roads, the governor would surely have written his name in gold in the hearts of the people.
“This is, perhaps, the best thing to happen to us. I am so happy that in our life time, the roads in Ikare would be transformed into dual carriage way. This is a confirmation of the change mantra of our party and the honest intention of our governor to develop Ondo State and leave it better than he met it,” Olemija said.
The projects, spread across the three senatorial districts, is proof of the governor’s promise to the people not to leave any part of the state untouched in his developmental strides. It is also a distant departure from the past when leaders concentrated projects in particular sections of the state, and leaved other parts to suffer.
“That was the trademark of some leaders in the past. They developed their own towns and areas, and neglected other parts of the state. This is a good development, and I think the governor deserves some commendation for this selfless act,” Fafisibe said.
Governor Akeredolu also assured the people that the budget was designed to achieve stability and consolidation among other strategies, in order to create a solid base for growth and development.
He said: “Mr. Speaker, l am pleased to inform you that the 2018 Budget is designed to achieve stability, fiscal reprioritisation and consolidation to create the base for sustainable growth and development. It is focused on reversing the growth of debt, unsustainable deficits and the burden of interest payments which is almost unsustainable. The state has also re-negotiated the bond it took in 2012 while the restructuring of other loans is in progress. These will free up more funds that will be re-invested in capital projects.”
As part of the strategies to ensure that the dreams become realities, the government has formulated a paper tagged Blueprint to Progress that is anchored on the administration’s 5-point agenda.
The governor said: “In order to orchestrate the desired progress and re-activate our collective aspiration towards achieving the positive yearnings of our people, we have launched the Strategic Development and Policy Implementation Plan document tagged the Blueprint to Progress of this administration.
“This document, Mr. Speaker, is anchored on a Five-Point Agenda, “Programme of Progress”, and as such we have christened the state’s 2018 Budget as “Budget of Progress”. The budget has been tailored towards the programmes contained in the Strategic Development and Policy Implementation document – Blue Print to Progress of this administration.”
The effort to redistribute development to all parts of the state began in the outgone year soon after he assumed office as governor.
On roads already completed, the governor said “… we have made effort in road construction and rehabilitation despite the lean resources available to us. The 2.5 km Jubilee-Ugbe Road has been completed. At Ifon, we have completed Ogbon-Omo Road, Igbadara Road, Howlet Road and Ajegunle Road. Similarly, Bajare Road in Idanre and some other roads across the three senatorial districts are already completed. The first phase of 1.2 km Abusoro/Idanre Road asphalt-laying has since been completed and the second phase will commence very soon.
“We are currently working on several other road projects across the state such as Sabomi Road, Ayeka-Irele (swamp section) internal road network at Ondo State University of Science and Technology (OSUSTECH), St Joseph/Lisa Road, Idanre and the notorious Iwaro-Oke-Oka-Epinmi-Isua Junction Road.”
With the steady manoeuvring of the economy of the state to a prosperous destination despite the huge debt inherited by the administration, Governor Akeredolu has shown that with disciplined spending and adequate planning, the state can rediscover itself and embark on a path of development.
