By: ADEBOYE ADO, Akure
A Civil Society Organization, Policy Alert (PA) has hailed the Ondo State Government for prioritizing critical sectors in the state budget implementation during the third quarter of 2023.
The organization notable for promoting fiscal and ecological justice in the Niger Delta, also raised the alarm Incessant illegal foreign loan.
In a statement signed by its Programme Officer, Fiscal Reforms and Anti-Corruption, Comrade Faith Paulinus, the organization noted that of the nine Niger Delta states, Ondo tops the chart for prioritizing key human development sectors such as Health, Education, Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), and Agriculture.
The statement noted that capital releases for the Educational Sector accounted for N779m with N725 million disbursed for State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Health N756 million, WASH N96.3m and Agriculture N1.45bn.
“We are impressed that attention was given to these key development sectors in capital expenditure as the social sector alone recorded a release of N2.7bn, 73 percent higher than the administrative sector which had a total release of N1.56bn”
Policy Alert added that, “although the spending priority of the government as regards capital release is commendable, the government needs to prioritize its capital spending above the recurrent budget.
“A review of the expenditure pattern, showed that out of the N48.21bn spent during the quarter, a total of N33.33bn went to recurrent expenditure while Capital expenditure had N14.88bn. This implies that what was spent for the cost of governance was 124 percent higher than the capital expenditure. This is not a healthy approach to public expenditure management for any society that wants to grow.”
PA further queried the N719.36m foreign loan taken by the State Government within the period stressing that it is doubtful the loan got the approval of the State Assembly.
“We could not find any records or reports indicating that the request and subsequent approval for this loan was ever discussed at plenary by the State House of Assembly. Taking loans without the approval of the State House of Assembly is illegal and a gross affront on the powers of the House of Assembly. We call on the Executive to stop this negative trend and the Ondo State House of Assembly to live up to its oversight responsibility.”
