Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Wednesday laid the 2023 budget estimates before the state parliament, restating his administration’s commitment to inclusive growth and noting that the size of the 2023 budget is N189,436,248,054.00, with a recurrent expenditure of 49.1% and capital component of 50.9%.
‘This is a budget of economic expansion and sustainable development’ the Governor said, adding that the fiscal document focuses on strengthening the current gains and is built around the Kwara State Sustainable Development Plan 2021-2030, Medium Term Sector Strategy 2021-2023 and citizens’ need Assessments.
‘Today, I stand before this Honourable House to present the 2023 Appropriation Bill. This fiscal document is as significant in its provisions as it is in expanding the gains of the past three years for maximum socioeconomic benefits of the state.
With the support of this House and the good people of Kwara State, our government has delivered on key campaign promises in education, healthcare delivery, provision of potable water, agriculture, poverty reduction, gender mainstreaming, youth and women empowerment, financial inclusion, workers’ welfare, infrastructure, and rural urban development.
Under us, Kwara has shed horrible indices and broken new positive grounds across development sectors. This is all due to our commitments to inclusive growth.
Of particular interest are the recent positive data on healthcare delivery, poverty rate, unemployment rate, and fiscal management of the state. All of these show that Kwara is a lot better today than we met it.
I’m glad to report that our investment in the premier hospital has earned the state university an accreditation to begin Medicine and Surgery for the first time.
In the outgoing fiscal year, we expanded economic opportunities for the people and executed many impactful projects and programmes across sectors, while many are near completion.
The commencement of the KwaraLEARN initiative has raised school attendance by 43% in four pilot local governments ; Baruten, Ilorin East, Ilorin West, and Offa. We have delivered a new waterworks at Dumagi, new and well-equipped Dental, Eye, Renal, ICU facilities, and an expansive new ward.
The Garment Factory, Visual Arts Centre, Innovation Hub, General Tunde Idiagbon Bridge, Osi-Obbo Aiyegunle Road, Adeta-Yebumot-AlHikmah University Road, Ilesha Gwanara Road, Osi and Ilesha Baruba Campuses of KWASU, Oro General Hospital, Jebba Waterworks, among others, are all near completion.
For the first time, we are 90% set to deliver a game-changing Electronic Management System (EMS) for our hospitals in Ilorin, Kaiama, and Offa. We have also completed the first radio station in Kwara North and 39 Digital Literacy Centres across the state’ he said.
The Governor also noted that the new budget places more emphasis on continued infrastructural development, completion of ongoing road projects, agribusinesses, irrigation and mechanization, workers’ welfare, rural electrification, and improved water reticulation, among others.
‘ In the new year, the RAAMP road projects will begin full steam.
So is the special agroprocessing zone that is supported by development agencies. In the new year, we will also implement the National Programme on Food Security (NPFS) and Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment, among others’ he added
‘Its key assumptions are oil price of 70 US Dollars per barrel; daily oil production estimate of 1.69m barrel per day; exchange rate of N435 to one United States Dollar; GDP growth of 3.75%; and inflation rate of 17.16%.
Funding windows include the federal allocations, internally generated revenue (IGR), grants, and other capital receipts’ Abdulrazaq also noted.
The budget presentation session that was presided over by the Speaker, Rt. Hon.Yakubu Salihu Danladi was attended by the Deputy Governor, Mr Kayode Alabi; representative of the Chief Judge , Justice Olalekan Adegbite; Acting Grand Khadi, Justice Abdullateef Kamaldeen; House members; cabinet members led by Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Mamman Sabah Jibril; first class and other senior traditional rulers, top government officials and senior civil servants; and All Progressives Congress chieftains led by the state Chairman, Prince Sunday Fagbemi; among others.
The Speaker commended the Governor for his efforts to steadily bridge the huge infrastructural gap in the state and for focusing on workers’ welfare, provision of basic amenities, and prudent management of public resources.
He assured AbdulRazaq of the readiness of the House to ensure timely passage of the budget after a careful scrutiny as constitutionally required for the benefit of the people of Kwara State.
‘Your Excellency deserves commendation for sustaining the zeal to fulfill the obligations to the state by paying counterpart funds in all sectors. The result of this is visible to all as the state has since gone back to light and the people of the state are now better for it’ he said.
‘It is a thing of joy to note that the efforts of this present government at ensuring transparency, accountability and fiscal discipline in government business are enjoying applause from within and outside the state’ Speaker Danladi added.
R-L: Hon Bode Towoju a government official, Governor Abdurazaq’s Special Adviser on Special Duties, Alhaji Abdulrazhaq Jiddah, a government official, Alhaji Abdulrahman Giwa and Hon Tunde Aluko.
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq took office on May 29 2019 and he will be completing his first term of four years on May 29 2023.
The governor delivered the annual budget speech for the fourth time on Wednesday and if he wins re-election next year, AbdulRazaq will be marking the start of a second phase in November or December 2023.
Voters in Kwara state will be taking a decision on who will be first citizen of the state from May 29 on March 11 2023.
Cognizant of the ongoing electioneering , pictures that are likely to become important in history were taken at the state house of assembly, Ilorin on Wednesday.
Some among the cabinet members ,who attended the event, also posed for pictures raising their hands to say 4+4 =8. This is usually done by supporters of the governor to say they have endorsed him for a second term in office.
Team@orientactualmags.com learned former loyalists and foot soldiers of Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki , who had said ‘To your tents, O Israel’ , to the political dynasty that he heads, were also at the House of Assembly to show solidarity with the governor- Team@orientactualmags.com Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08059100286, 09094171980. Thank you
