Gbenro Adesina
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State on Monday December 21, 2020 signed the state’s 2021 Budget of N268.8 Billion into law, declaring that he would consolidate his administration’s infrastructure initiatives.
The Governor, who made the declaration while signing the budget at the Executive Council Chamber of the Governor’s Office, said that real implementation of the budget would commence in earnest, promising at least 70 per cent implementation of the budget.
According to him, there was a lot to look forward to in terms of dividends of democracy by the people of the state in 2021, saying that the state was poised to complete many of its infrastructure works in the new year.
The Governor pointed out that the 2020 budget fell short of the 70 per cent target but recorded a performance that was little above average at 50.32 per cent due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic meltdown occasioned by the fall in oil prices.
He said, “We met a lot of our goals because we used the alternative project funding approach (APFA), and the contractor’s project financing scheme to finance many projects. We also made use of our targeted loans for project financing. For the 2021 fiscal year, we will continue to be innovative and creative in our approach to financing”.
He noted that the government would work harder and smarter in 2021 to ensure that the government meet its performance target at least 70 per cent.
Governor Makinde promised to explore alternative finance models in 2021, assuring that projects which the House of Assembly has considered as imperative and the on-going ones would be implemented.
