Governor of the State of Osun, Rauf Aregbesola, on Thursday presented the 2018 budget proposal of N173.98 billion before the state House of Assembly.
The estimate, tagged ‘Budget of Enduring Legacy’ has Recurrent expenditure of N85,105,590,726 representing 49 per cent, with Capital Expenditure of N88,874,492,281 representing 51 per cent of the total budget.
The estimate is 16 per cent higher than the 2017 appropriation bill which was N146,632,746,980.
While presenting the budget, the governor said that the estimate was prepared to consolidate the successes recorded by his administration within the last seven years.
He said the budget is targeted towards completing all the ongoing projects across the state with a view to building on the existing development that has so far been achieved by his administration.
He mentioned that the administration would strive to complete the Oba Adesoji Aderemi Osogbo East Bypass Road.
The governor who regretted that his administration was only able to achieve just 42.885 per cent of the 2017 budget said, the economic downturn in terms of inadequate revenue was responsible for the low performance.
According to him, the only alternative available towards the effective implementation of the 2018 budget is for the people to perform their civic responsibilities in terms of tax payment.
Earlier, the Speaker, Najeem Salaam, has commended the governor for his commitment to the six-point integral action plan of his administration, saying the administration has successfully charted a new course of development for the state, ”beginning from intangibles to tangibles.”
He said the seal of the administration to youth empowerment, education, security, infrastructure development among others had placed the state on a high pedestal.
