Thread by @SulaiOdus

ADDRESS DELIVERED BY THE GOVERNOR OF OGUN STATE,
HIS EXCELLENCY, PRINCE (DR.) DAPO ABIODUN, MFR, (@dabiodunMFR)
AT THE PRESENTATION OF THE 2020 APPROPRIATION
BILL TO THE STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY,
HELD ON TUESDAY, 3RD DECEMBER, 2019

Protocols,
It is exactly 187 days today that I took the solemn oath as the Chief Executive Officer of this great State. On that day, the 29th day of May, 2019, I was conscious of the responsibility of my office and had no doubt the task ahead would require my all.

Standing here today in this hallowed Chamber, I wish to reaffirm my oft-stated position that the social contract I have, is a tripartite covenant between me and God, on one part. And on the other part, to serve Him and reciprocate His faithfulness through the journey so far by..

... being a tool to bring the greatest good to the greatest number of the people of Ogun State. That contract translates to being just, equitable, fair, transparent, participatory, inclusive and to respect the rule of law. These to me are all that democracy preaches.

2. Today, I stand before you, the Representatives of the people of Ogun State and with our leaders and other stakeholders as witnesses to history, to perform one of the major statutory functions of my contract with our dear people of Ogun State.

I am here today to present the maiden edition of the Budget titled Budget to Build Our Future Together. By every standard, beyond the statutory obligation of this presentation ceremony, it is for me an opportunity to lay bare our vision and mission to give our dear State; good,..

.. focused and qualitative governance and to create an enabling environment for accountability, transparency, equity and fairness in the conduct of government affairs, towards creating an enduring economic future for Ogun State and individual prosperity for our people.

3. As a matter of fact, this is in consonance with our promises. We are committed to joining hands with our people to build our dear State together and to observe due process in doing so.

This is deliberate, not only to portray the conduct of “Omoluabi” expected of an “Omo Teacher”, but also to serve diligently, sincerely and in good conscience. Our Administration will continue to make the interests of the people the core of governance and not to betray..

..their trust and mandate in order to build collectively with the people, an enduring future for our dear State.

4. What we promised was to restore Government as the core purveyor of Development. So far, we have embarked on a programme of actions anchored on non-negotiable imperatives and key institutional framework, which include:

i. providing employment for our teeming youths, through the establishment of Ogun Job Portal  
ii. expanding the State’s economic base in the context of Public-Private-Partnership;
iii. reforming the machinery of government, with initiatives such as:

▪ Capacity building for Ogun State Public Service and improved welfare;
▪ Establishment of Ogun State Public Works Agency;
▪ Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency (OGUN INVEST);
▪ Fiscal Responsibility Commission;
▪ Public Private Partnership Office;

▪ Digital Transformation Agency;
▪ Procurement Agency;
▪ Government Delivery Unit;
▪ Industrial Parks;
▪ Agro – Processing Parks;
▪ Value Chain Clusters.

We have categorized our approach into two,..

..the Enablers and the Pillars which have continued to manifest positively in the successful implementation of our policies and programmes, particularly the Building our Future Together Agenda, in these six months of our Administration in Ogun State

5. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members of the State House of Assembly, our dear Leaders, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, it may interest you to know that, in line with our Administration’s strategic imperatives and implementation road map,..

.. we have been able to set up the building blocks for sustainable development of our dear State. These are encapsulated under an acronym for our five strategic Pillars – that are essentially I.S.E.Y.A – out of which the bases (Enablers) of our programmes and projects shall...

.. continue to be built on. Let me now highlight the I.S.E.Y.A pillars.

i. INFRASTRUCTURE
Infrastructure, for us, is key to development. We have been able to demonstrate our commitment to the continued socio-economic development of our dear State, particularly in Education,

Health, Infrastructure and other key sectors that have direct and positive impact on our people. You will recall that we requested that our people select the roads that should attract immediate attention in each of the 236 wards across our dear State.

These roads are receiving immediate intervention. This is in addition to government’s identified projects that will be spread across the three Senatorial Districts of our dear State.

We have started the rehabilitation of rural and township roads across the 3 Senatorial Districts of our dear State. This necessitated the establishment of the Ogun State Public Works Agency (OGPWA) which has proven to be an efficient,

responsive and cost-effective strategy of rehabilitating existing roads. This measure became necessary because of the bad condition of most of our roads. We have started with some in the last few months.

The OGPWA is today present and visible in different parts of our dear State, working round the clock to fix the following roads among other assignments:

▪ Ogun West:
Sango-Ota-Lagos Road;
Osi-Ota-Awolowo-Navy-AIT Road.

▪ Ogun East :
Itokin-Ibefun-Ijebu-Ode Road;
Sagamu-Ijebu-Ode-Sapade Road;
Asafa-Oke-Degun Road;
Iperu-Ilisan Road;
Siun-Ogere-Iperu road;
Balogun Kuku Road in Ijebu-Ode;
Oba Erinwole Road, Sagamu.
▪ Ogun Central
Adigbe-Opako road;
Abeokuta-Sango-Ota-Lagos road.

The establishment of OGPWA is part of our commitment to accelerate massive road rehabilitation towards enhancing job creation, poverty alleviation, food security, open up the locked areas to development, and generally ease commuting and movement of goods and materials;

thereby ensuring the continued growth of our dear State’s economy. Opening up our rural roads, in particular, will boost agriculture and development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

I must inform you that we have also identified areas where we need to direct our immediate attention. For example, our industrial hubs- Agbara-Atan-Ota Axis; Ewekoro-Ifo Axis; Sagamu-Ogijo Axis; Sagamu-interchange-Kobape Abeokuta Expressway Axis; Ilaro- Ibese Axis; among others.

We also recognise that to take full advantage of our proximity to Lagos, we have embarked on some key joint initiatives with Lagos State government.

First, we have presented a joint request to the President to release two major expressways to the two states for rehabilitation and maintenance in collaboration with private sector partners. These roads are Lagos –Otta - Abeokuta Expressway and Ikorodu – Sagamu road.

This request is receiving attention and being vigorously pursued. The second and even broader collaborative initiative is the establishment of Lagos-Ogun Joint Development Commission. This commission will focus on a number of issues, particularly along our border towns.

The focal areas include infrastructure, physical planning, security, transportation management and revenue. On our own, the contract for the 13.4 km Epe-Ijebu Ode Road is being perfected and will soon be awarded.

ii. SOCIAL WELFARE AND WELL BEING
Security – In the area of security, we have continued to complement the efforts of the Federal Government by supporting all the security agencies in our dear State.

It is only when security is assured that individuals can venture out in search of their livelihood and to meet other basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter and self-actualization. And, for a state that desires more private investment,

there is the need to assure the citizenry and investors of safety of their lives and investments. It is on this significant premise that we amended the law establishing the Ogun State Security Trust Fund, reinvigorated the Fund and made it private sector driven to provide...

...the needed finances, ensure accountability and good corporate governance.

The Chairman of the Fund is Mr. Bolaji Balogun, Chairman of Lafarge. Although, we are aware that security agencies are on the Exclusive List of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,

we have resolved to continue to support these agencies because the lives and property for which they provide security are that of the people of our dear State. In this regard, we have provided over 100 patrol vans, 200 motorcycles and other security gadgets to strengthen...

.. the security apparatus in our dear State, to provide a conducive atmosphere to help nurture the individual potentials of our people and for businesses to thrive.

Health - To address infrastructural and staff deficits in the health institutions, our Administration has commenced the rehabilitation of the primary health centres across State. We have also approved the immediate recruitment of medical doctors, nurses, pharmacists and..

.. other medical personnel for the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu and our other medical facilities.  The State Hospital, Ilaro has been renovated and this will be extended to other state health facilities. Whilst addressing the manpower shortage..

..and embarking on physical renovation,our attention is also on procurement of medical equipment in the State hospitals. Some of the recently procured equipment include, anaesthesia machine, oxygen concentrator,and delivery beds as well as construction of standard dialysis units.

Furthermore, a number of medical outreaches have been conducted in different parts of the state to address some common health issues, sensitise and create awareness and also obtain data on the prevalence of health conditions amongst our people.

We have also started the review of the State Health Insurance Scheme by instilling health insurance culture in the people of Ogun State, to expand access to health care and lessen the unplanned financial burden. In addition to free medical outreaches established,

we have made provision for nutritional care in all the State-owned hospitals and health facilities across the State, as a means of providing a systematic and comprehensive foundation for healthcare delivery. Our mission, in this regard, is to ensure the well-being, wellness and..

..welfare of our people.

Let me mention “Oko’wo Dapo”, a micro credit scheme that provides a window for women to access financial resources. It empowers our people to expand their micro and small businesses. Beyond finance, there is also MSME’s Clinic for face-to-face..

.. interaction between the entrepreneurs and Business Development Organisations and financial institutions such as SMEDAN, GIZ, BOI, and National Association of Micro-Finance Banks (NAMB) towards gathering data on the activities of the entrepreneurs across our dear State and..

.. providing business development services. If women are generally regarded as vulnerable, the widows are even more so. Thus, we also have in place a Scheme for widows and the first batch of over 2,000 have been empowered with start-up funds for their own businesses.

As a matter of fact, this has continued to help in promoting our job creation, poverty alleviation, and food security strategy.

Environment and Physical Planning – As part of our initiative to address the deficit in the housing sector, we have commenced two housing schemes in Abeokuta, mass construction of affordable housing units in Abeokuta and other locations in the State.

These housing units will be sold particularly to the low and middle-income earners.  At the moment, we are almost through with the development of Ogun State Masterplan and designation of the Industrial Hubs.

We  are providing power, leveraging on the gas pipelines that run through the State.

Lands and Survey – The Bureau of Lands and Survey is a critical component of improved service delivery for both corporate and individual stakeholders. We are currently reviewing our programmes on land acquisition for individuals and corporate bodies,..

.. particularly the Geographic Information System (GIS) and other areas to facilitate the automation of our land administration processes. This, we have been able to put in place to accelerate our plan for the construction of affordable housing units across the State.

iii. EDUCATION
Let me recall that during our electioneering campaign, I promised to restructure the education sector. And, immediately after our Administration was inaugurated, I declared a state of emergency in the education sector towards..

..repositioning the sector for better performance. We consider this our bond. And, I can confidently say that we have kept our words. This is self-evident by the stability brought to our Institutions.

Ogun State is the education capital of Nigeria with the highest number of Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria. With a consciousness of our heritage in the knowledge industry, we have continued to ensure a mutually-beneficial relationship between the town and..

.. the gown by providing a platform that creates and strengthens regular interface between the industry and the academia. We will continue to ensure that the curricular equip the products of our tertiary institutions with the required competencies..

.. so that we have a ready pool of manpower required to drive our industrialization programme. For this reason, we held an Education Summit where various challenges and prospects of the Education sector were rigorously dissected.

Mr. Speaker, let me inform you that our Administration set up committees, particularly to look into all the seemingly intractable issues concerning Moshood Abiola University of Science and Technology (MAUSTECH), and the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY).

We did the same for Tai Solarin College of Education (TASCE), Omu-Ijebu. By the grace of God, all issues have been resolved and the two issues are back to full academic activities. Only last week, I inaugurated the Governing Council for TASCE.

Other tertiary institutions will also have their Governing Councils soon. We have also embarked on the rehabilitation of our Public Primary School facilities across all the 236 wards in the State.

As a demonstration of the importance this Administration attaches to the role of teachers, we recently promoted over 10,000 teaching and non-teaching Staff for the year 2016 and 2017, we have also restored the payment of running cost in our schools while payment of illegal fees..

.. have been stopped in our public schools in line with our free education policy. This Government, since inception has also offered support for School Principals to attend conferences and outside Nigeria, for example China.

And just yesterday again another batch of School Administrators returned from an experience sharing session in the United Arab Emirate. The Government has also resolved to restore the positions of Principals-General and the introduction of Headmasters-General in our school system

These are deliberate pointers to the fact that the welfare and career progression of teachers are paramount to our Administration. This is not to forget recognition and donation of laptops and other incentives to Students in Ogun State,

both in public and private schools that excelled in national competitions.

iv. YOUTH EMPOWERMENT, CULTURE AND RELIGION
Our Administration will continue to deepen its zeal for the empowerment of the teeming population of youths in our dear State. Empowerment of the youths through sports, creative arts, cultural activities, tourism and entertainment..

..will continue to provide the impetus in moulding these leaders of tomorrow for the task of nation building. The launch of the Ogun Job Portal, jobs.ogunstate.gov.ng, is part of our Administration’s commitment to ensure that our graduates..

.. and those with vocational skills across the State will give their information and we will endeavour to match them with potential employers, training opportunities, not only within the Public Service but also with the Private Sector as our partners.

So far, over 120,000 applicants have been able to submit their applications for jobs on the Ogun Job Portal. Of these, about 15,000 of them would have been gainfully employed by the end of the year- including the first batch of 10,000 engaged in the Anchor Borrowers scheme.

Furthermore, the State Government has been faithful with identifying with the youths as a way of aligning with international standards. A Committee of Bank Chief Executives (through SANEF) has approached Ogun State for land to build a Creative Arts and Entertainment and Village:

the largest in Africa.
Digital Economy – This is to provide an economy that is leveraging on ICT in order to make information available at the click of a button. Permit me to use this opportunity to invite investors, inventors, business owners and all our partners to visit the..

.. Ogun Tech Hub Village in Abeokuta. Visiting our Tech Hub Village will inspire you all to appreciate more the wonders of ICT for business growth.  In particular, the initiative of our Tech Hubs is to provide our people with an avenue for pre-incubation and..

.. cross-fertilisation of ideas for technologists, social entrepreneurs, tech companies, impact investors, and governments in and around Ogun State to create new solutions to the many social challenges of humanity.

The initiative of the Ogun Tech Hub, therefore, is to position Ogun State as a key centre for innovation in Nigeria. I must say that the initiative of the Ogun Tech Hub in Abeokuta, which will soon be replicated in other towns across the 3 Senatorial Districts of our dear State,

is also a part of our Vocational Training scheme which is to provide capacity building for our artisans in order to ensure they are relevant in the New Industrial Revolution.

Some of the Model Colleges built by the last Administration will be converted to vocational skills acquisition and ICT hubs to ensure more participation of our youths in the digital economy.

It is worthy of note that our various initiatives in ICT have received national attention and recognition. Only last week, the Federal Ministry of Communication presented our state with the Award of Best ICT State.

Improvement on the Business Environment – This is to ensure a continued improvement in our ease of doing business rating. In this direction, we have also established supervising Agencies specifically for this purpose:

(a) Ogun State Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency which will help promote Ogun State as a preferred investment destination while offering a truly one-stop-shop and removing all the red tapes and bottlenecks for investors.

This will be achieved through efficient process of land administration, permits, and grants of relevant licenses with ease.
(b) We have also established the Ogun State Enterprise Development Agency which is to strengthen the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and boost..

.. their capacities as major producers of raw materials and off-takers of the big industries as distributors, wholesalers and retailers. The Agency will also assist in the facilitation of all available intervention funds from the Federal Government through..

.. the Central Bank of Nigeria and monitor compliance with all requirements in order to achieve its objectives. So, as these MSMEs thrive, big industries will flourish.

In matching up with the World Bank’s ranking on sub-national study on ease of doing business,

our Administration has created the Business Environment Council to streamline regulatory processes associated with business registration in the State. This initiative is to reposition our dear State for the much-anticipated socio-economic boom.

v. AGRICULTURE
Agriculture remains a mainstay of our economy, 80% of our total landmass of 16,980.55km2 (6,566.23 sq. mi) is arable. I am happy to report to you that Ogun State is a major producer of cassava in Nigeria; and one of the major producers of rice, maize and cocoa,

all of which are the main raw materials for Agro-allied and beverage industries. Not forgetting that we are also major producers of  kolanut, cashew, palm kernel etc. As part of our agenda in promoting agriculture, our Administration has continued to..

..intensify efforts to partner with the African Development Bank (AfDB) for the berthing of the largest Agro-Processing Zone in Ogun State.
In the same vein, we inaugurated, in partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Anchor Borrowers Scheme on Agriculture.

Under this scheme, our teeming youth will be turned to Agric Entrepreneurs and will be provided with land, which will be cleared for them, improved seedling and other extension services.

In addition, off takers (Anchors) will be sourced for their produce at agreed prices that are known to all at the time of planting thus guaranteeing price stability and adequate reward for effort. Furthermore,

CBN will pay stipends to the farmers pending the harvest and sale of their produce. Over 52,000 youth have been harvested from the Job Portal out of which the first batch of 10,000 have been selected and are currently on the programme.

We also have the FADAMA Graduate Unemployed Youths and Women Scheme (FADAMA GUYS) which is particularly unique because it is targeted at two main vulnerable groups of our population – the youth and women.

At the micro economic level, these programmes provide job opportunities in agriculture, for our youth and women thereby providing income and food for themselves and their families. On the macro-economic level, they will be another boost to Nigeria’s food self-sufficiency agenda.

Let me note that the two schemes are a win-win affair for Government, the people and our private investors. Our private investors too are going to reap bountiful fruits as Agriculture and Agro-Allied industries will be provided a ready pool of raw materials.

This is another opening for public-private-partnership between our dear State and the Private sector. As a further boost, we are establishing Agro- Processing Zones across the State.

6. OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS:
Sports
i. Gateway Football Club – Prompt release of funds to prosecute matches and save the club from relegation. It is most amazing that a club that was battling relegation is now placed 2nd position on the log in this league season,

and the promotion into the Nigerian National Premier League (NNPL) is now within the reach of the club;
ii. Participation in the National Games Festival – Ogun State was adequately represented at the 2019 National Games Festival and a total of 128 medals were won for our dear..

.. State both in the male and female categories.
Bureau of Transportation – The exploitation of other means of transportation such as along our waterways will be pursued in a bid to promote cheap multi-modal transport system in the rural trading communities.

Special Duties – Ogun State has continued to key into the Federal Government Social Investment Programmes such as Home-Grown School Feeding Programme; N-Power; Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP); and, Cash Transfer Programme.

This has tremendously aided our programmes on job creation, poverty alleviation, and food security in the following ways:
i. Increased enrolment of pupils in the public primary schools.
ii. Provision of direct employment and empowerment for over 3,090 women in the State;

iii. Provision of one free nutritional meal per day for primary 1 to 3 pupils;
iiii. Increased local agricultural production through the availability of ready market; and,
v. Provision of over 20,000 indirect jobs through agricultural processing of protein components.

7. So much for what we have done. As a new Administration, focus has now shifted to Financial Transparency, Accountability, Due Process, Efficiency and Cost Management, and this has engendered the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) which is a 3-year plan that will improve..

.. the allocation of resources to strategic areas. Under our 2020 – 2022 Framework, our State will be repositioned to achieve a World class Public Financial Management system that is built on international best practices.

The MTEF provides the basis for annual budget planning. As a macroeconomic framework it indicates fiscal targets and estimates revenues and expenditures, including government financial obligations in the medium term and as a tool to manage the pressure between competing policy..

.. priorities and budget realities. In the long run, it will help us to reprioritize expenditure and make informed policy choices that are affordable.

The fiscal projections over the 3 year period are as follows:
• The States GDP is projected to grow at an average of 2.4%

• The estimated GDP figures for the State over the 3 year period are: N2.99trn, N3.06trn and N3.14trn respectively; and
• Inflation is also projected at 10.2%, 8.49% and 6.59% in 2020, 2021 and 2022 respectively

In developing this MTEF, we set the following targets and key performance indicators for the State;
• Capital expenditure ratio of 60%, 65% and 70% respectively;
• Fiscal Deficit as a percentage of GDP of 3%,1% and 2% respectively;

• Total Personnel Cost as a percentage of IGR of 43%, 28% and 24% respectively;
• Recurrent Expenditure as a percentage of IGR of 71%, 43% and 37% respectively.

• 8. REVIEW OF BUDGET PERFORMANCE IN 2019
• Mr. Speaker, let me, for a few moments give a review of the budget performance in the out-going year. The 2019 budget was tagged “Budget of Enduring Legacy”, by the immediate past Administration,

with a total budget size of N400.323 Billion. The Recurrent Expenditure was N149.67 Billion, representing 37% of the Budget; whilst Capital expenditure stood at N250.65 Billion, representing 63% of the total Budget size.

This Budget was to be funded with N159.24 Billion expected from the Internally Generated Revenue and N60 Billion from the Federation Account. The Capital Receipts were expected to be N101.08 Billion

The Government also expected N80 Billion from Road Refund from the Federal Govt

As at 31st October, 2019, the overall Budget Proportionate Performance was 36%.  With this in view, we have scaled up expectations and thought through how government will perform better in the coming year.

9. POLICY THRUSTS FOR OUR YEAR 2020 ESTIMATES
Ogun State is an emerging mega economy, which enjoys very close proximity to Lagos, the fifth largest economy in Africa. We are turning our push factors to pull factors, to attract Development Partners’ support,

funding from foreign and local investors; and financial institutions, to achieve our goals, build our strategic pillars, and accomplish desirable outcomes. Therefore, the action plan for the 2020 budget will continue with the tradition of exploring means of observing prudent..

.. financial management system, and thereby reducing cost of administration and plug waste.  Basically, we will do more to further localise the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to continue to create individual prosperity for the people of Ogun State.

The policy thrusts for the 2020 financial year will be geared towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

-To achieve these, we are building on the identified Pillars, particularly through the Public-Private Partnership initiatives.

10.

Year 2020 Proposals
Mr. Speaker, Permit me to turn our attention to the coming year and the implications of these proposals upon the trajectory of development in the State.

11. The 2020 Proposals have been aptly titled

“Budget to Build Our Future Together”

To reflect our determination to deliver on our electoral promises to the optimal level. We therefore propose an estimated expenditure of N449.974 Billion.

The components of the Budget are summarized as follows:

I. Expenditure on Salaries and Allowances: Eighty Three Point Two Three Eight Billion Naira which is Eighteen Percent of total.

II. Pension and Gratuities: Twenty Five Point Nine Four Five Billion Naira which is Six Percent of total.

III. The total Personnel Cost is One Hundred and Nine Point One Eight Three Billion Naira which is Twenty Four Percent of total.

IIII. The Over Head Cost is Seventy One Point Six Five Nine Billion Naira which is Sixteen Percent of total.

V. Total Recurrent Expenditure is One Eight Zero Point Eight Four Two Billion Naira which is Thirty Nine Point Six Nine Percent of total.

VI. Capital Expenditure is Two Six Nine Point One Three Two Billion Naira which is Sixty Point Three One Percent of total.

12. The proposed Four Hundred and Forty Nine Point Nine Seven Four Billion Naira Budget is to be funded as follows:

I. Proposed IGR is Two Hundred and Fifty Four Point Nine Four Six Billion Naira which is Fifty Seven Percent of total. 254.946b

II. Statutory Allocation is expected to be Forty Three Point Four Three One Billion Naira which is Ten Percent of total. 43.431b

III. Expected revenue from VAT is Twenty Two Point Zero Three One Billion Naira which is Five Percent of total. 22.031b

IIII. Capital and other receipts are One Hundred and Twenty Nine Point Five Six Six Billion Naira which is Twenty Eight Percent of total. 129.566b

13. ANALYSIS OF THE PROPOSED EXPENDITURE:

Our Proposed Expenditure consists of Capital Expenditure of N269.132 Billion i.e.  60.31%

and

Recurrent Expenditure of N180.842 Billion i.e. 39.69%.

#BuildingOurFutureTogether

Salaries and Allowances stand at N83.238 Billion, while Pension and Gratuities account for N25.945 Billion, which is 18% of total Expenditure and Pensions & Gratuities are 6% of total Expenditure.

The balance of N71.659 Billion which accounts for 16% is set aside for the Overhead Costs.  

14. To our Five Strategic Pillars, essentially coined I.S.E.Y.A, we propose as follows:

I. Infrastructure is One Hundred and Seven Point Nine Six Four Billion Naira which is Twenty Four Percent of total.

II. Social Wellbeing and Welfare is One Hundred and Twenty Eight Point Zero Six Seven Billion Naira which is Twenty Eight Percent of total.

III. Education is Ninety One Point Six Zero Nine Billion Naira which is Twenty Percent of total.

IIII. Youth Empowerment is Seven Point Eight Nine Six Billion Naira which is Two Percent of total.

V. Agriculture is Twenty One Point Six Three Four Billion Naira which is Five Percent of total.

VI. Others are Ninety Two Point Eight Zero Four Billion Naira which is Twenty One Percent of total.

15. ANY DIFFERENCE?
It is almost a routine that Proposals are made but rarely fully implemented. What we have brought on board is to walk our talk. We have emplaced a mechanism for a workable Public Financial Management System that eliminates leakages and ensures efficient and..

..judicious use of our common wealth. Some of the action plans in this regard are:

▪ Full automation of the State Finance functions;
▪ Strict adherence to the proposed Fiscal Responsibility Law;

▪ Instituting Credit Rating for Ogun State by internationally accepted rating agencies;
▪ Strengthening the internal audit functions; and,
▪ Timely publication of audited accounts.

16. As a matter of fact, we are currently reviewing the State Debt Management Strategy. We equally issued an Executive Order for the establishment of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission for prudent financial management of the State’s resources.

In addition to the Public-Private Partnership Law which has just been passed by the Ogun State House of Assembly, we have carried out a Staff Biometrics and Payroll Audit; Implementation of Treasury Management Solution for single view and efficiency in treasury and..

.. payment processing; as well as financial sustainability assessment. All these steps, apart from preventing leakages, have also helped to achieve prudent financial management, attract financial support from financial institutions, multilateral agencies and development partners,

and have, in fact, started to manifest positively in successful implementation of the “Building our Future Together” Agenda in the six months of our Administration. We shall not waiver.

17. Mr. Speaker, the Honourable Members of the 9th Assembly, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, we cannot deny the fact that, as our Administration committed to creating a better, enduring and prosperous Ogun State, we must also appreciate the fact that it comes at a cost.

This will help to take into focus the financial implications of our common cause. That is, we must think of how much we need; how we raise such funds; how such funds will be judiciously expended; and how well such funds will be accounted for.

The bulk of this falls within the purview of the Public Service. We all know, the Public Service is the engine room of any successful government.

This, we have commenced with the preparation of our 2020 Advance Proposals and we have to think outside the box to ensure that we generate adequate funds to finance our development projects.

18 One important aspect of fund generation is our Public-Private Partnership approach. It is crucial, if we want to engender successful Public-Private Partnerships that we build a culture of good governance which includes but not limited to transparent Public Financial Management

This will assure our partners of our commitment towards engendering successful Public-Private Partnerships. Therefore, we have to improve on our processes and procedures so as to match up with the pace of our partners.

We have to show that the partnership will be mutually beneficial. Above all, we have to show that we are truly a worthy partner. And, I am very sure that the Ogun State Public Service is capable of this.

CONCLUSION

19. The challenges that lie ahead of us in the incoming year dictate that we should all work together. We have the indisputable judge of posterity looking over our shoulders to assess our performance and how well we have been able to keep our promises.

Let me assure you that we are very resolute and we shall remain undaunted, undeterred and undisturbed in our effort to give our very best to our people.

I, therefore, wish to solicit for the continued support and cooperation of this Honourable House to enable us collectively build a viable future for our dear State.

20. I trust that Honourable Members will show the requisite leadership that will give courage and confidence to our people. Let me also express gratitude to this Honourable House for the passage of the Public-Private Partnership Bill for the facilitation of our development plan,

particularly for the successful implementation of the “Building our Future Together” Agenda.  We seek a partnership that will help in running government more efficiently in the light of economic challenges that call for more discipline and probity.

21. In closing, let me acknowledge the trust and confidence that the good people of Ogun State have continued to repose in our Administration. This is a great honour and privilege.

More importantly, it is another opportunity for us to show the world our capability to serve our people with utmost honesty and transparency.

22. In the same vein, we wish to appreciate the invaluable support and cooperation of all our partners, including the stakeholders especially from the Private Sector which have continued to make our Administration a reference point, within and beyond the shores of Nigeria.

Our gratitude especially goes to our Party Leaders, our revered Royal Fathers and Elder Statesmen, Spiritual leaders, Development Partners, non-Governmental Organisations, Civil Society, Professional Bodies, Trade Associations, the Private Sector, the Press,

our dedicated and committed Public Servants, Students and all well-meaning individuals and bodies of corporations, Comity of associations and unions, artisans and others, too numerous to mention, for their continued support and cooperation.

Special mention must be made of the immense support of the financial institutions across our dear State towards ensuring the successful implementation of the “Building our Future Together” Agenda.

We look forward to more of your support, dedication, cooperation and collaboration in the coming years. I end on a note of hope. Like Nelson Mandela stated at his Inauguration as President of South Africa, “The task at hand will not be easy, but you have mandated us to change…

from a land in which the majority lived with little hope, to one in which they can live and work with dignity, with a sense of self-esteem and confidence in the future”. This is the good tiding that our Government brings to the good people of our dear State.

Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members of the State House of Assembly, permit me to lay before you the Appropriation Bill of our Administration for the Year 2020.

#BuildingOurFutureTogether

I thank you all for listening. God Bless Ogun State.

“Igbega Ipinle Ogun, ajose gbogbo wa ni!

Prince Dapo Abiodun, MFR, (@dabiodunMFR)
Governor of Ogun State, Nigeria.
Tuesday, 3rd December, 2019

#BuildingOurFutureTogether