By; OLADELE ADEDAYO, Ado-Ekiti.
Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose has said his administration is collating the views and opinions of community leaders in the preparation of the 2017 Budget so as to have a document that will truly reflect the needs of the people.
This is just as the governor promised that his administration will not leave any abandoned project behind while leaving office.
The governor stated this in Ado-Ekiti at a meeting with traditional chieftaincy title holders.
The governor said the bottom-to-top approach being adopted by his government in preparing the budget would ensure prioritizing the needs of the communities.
“State officials cannot just sit down in Ado-Ekiti and choose what the people want in the various communities across the state. If we say let us do a road project somewhere, the most important need of the people could be a health facility. We want people’s participation in the preparation of the budget.
“Moreover, we want to ensure transparency in what we do. Last year, our administration was lauded for being the most transparent in the implementation of the budget and we are not relenting. We have nothing to hide.
“However, to ensure a well coordinated exercise, I would advise community leaders to go back home and interact with their people and collate their needs and forward to their local government chairmen. Such documents will get to us at the state level.
“I want to assure all that we will try as much as possible and within available resources touch as many communities as possible. My administration still has another budget to prepare after the 2017 Budget and we will ensure even distribution of amenities. Projects that should be handled at the local government level we will encourage and support them to do so,”he said.
The governor, who was commended by chiefs from Ado-Ekiti, Ikole, Efon among others for the developmental projects executed in their communities, also enjoined local government chairmen and councillors to always interface with their people.
To ensure that council officials would not just abandon their people after being elected into office, Fayose said henceforth, councillorship candidates would now have to get letters of endorsement from the chiefs in their areas.
The governor sought the support of the chiefs and their people for his government, saying despite the paucity of funds, his government was still impacting positively on the lives of the people as shown by various projects and policies it was executing.
