The Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has demanded clarification on some aspect of the 2025 budget proposal recently presented to the House of Assembly by Governor Seyi Makinde.
The party reacted via a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, issues to journalists on Thursday, November 14 in Ibadan, the Oyo State Capital.
Sadare described the budget as an orchestrated event to fulfill all righteousness by Governor Makinde.
The party criticized the governor for failing to consult citizens of the state and relevant stakeholders before the presentation of the budget.
Parts of the statement reads, “The orchestrated presentation was just a ceremony aimed at fulfilling all righteousness as Governor Makinde did not carry any of the relevant stakeholders along in its preparation while he would not make use of the Appropriation Bill upon its passage by the lawmakers.
“As far as the Oyo APC is concerned, the claim by Governor Makinde that the 2025 budget proposal had the input of the people of the state is false, even as we challenge him to come out clean on the specific projects which would gulp the 51 per cent of the total ₦679 billion.
The party also knocked Makinde for failing to address the issues surrounding the payment of minimum wage in the budget.
“Also, we have expected him (Makinde) to quote the exact period during which workers should expect the commencement of the payment of the ₦80,000 minimum wage, which he announced recently as well as the monthly total of the state wage bill to justify the amount quoted as recurrent expenditure in the 2025 budget,” the statement added.
The opposition party concluded by criticizing the governor’s claim of recording huge success with the 2024 budget saying, “Governor Makinde claimed 70 per cent successful implementation of the N515 billion budget for 2024 but we do not know the parameters he used to score himself. In the health sector of the state, residents live under the fear of Lassa fever, cholera and smallpox, among others, while the personnel in our under-staffed public hospitals groan on account of the poor condition of service. But for the World Bank which bankrolls Ibadan Urban Flood Management Projects, the whole of the state capital (Ibadan) would have been washed away by flood and erosion.”
Investors King reported that Makinde, on Wednesday, November 13, presented a budget of ₦678.86 billion, which he tagged; Budget of Economic Stabilisation, to the state House of Assembly for review and approval.
According to the governor, the budget allocates ₦349.29 billion for capital expenditure, which constitutes 50.59 per cent, while ₦325.57 billion is designated for recurrent expenditure, accounting for 49.41 per cent of the total budget.
