December 31, (THEWILL) – Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has signed the N1.054 trillion Appropriation Bill into law, paving the way for the development of the Olokola Sea Port and other key infrastructure projects in the state.
The budget, tagged: “Budget of Hope and Prosperity”, allocates N453.56 billion for recurrent expenditure and N600.98 billion for capital expenditures.
Abiodun signed the bill at the Governor’s Office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, the state capital, on Monday.
The Speaker of the House of Assembly, Right Honourable Oludaisi Elemide, Principal Officers of the House, the Deputy Governor, and members of the State Executive Council, all witnessed the signing of the bill into law.
While speaking after receiving the clean copies of the bill, the governor stated that his administration, in the coming month, would sign the partnership agreement with potential partners for the development of the Olokola Sea Port.
He added that the government would also focus on the provision of basic infrastructure with the signing of more Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with private corporate bodies in renewable energy, agriculture, and other sectors, to boost the State’s economy.
“It is my pleasure to announce to you that in the coming month, we will be signing the partnership agreement with potential partners in our port development. The Olokola Port is back on track.
“In the coming year, you will see us signing more Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with private players in the areas of renewable energy, energy transition, and agriculture, particularly animal husbandry. We intend to join the league of those producing beef and pork, not just for domestic consumption, but for export.
“We will continue to provide more infrastructure, particularly roads, in every local government in the State. We will continue in our stride to provide the right infrastructure and the right situation to ensure that students in Ogun State learn in a conducive environment.
“We will continue to pursue our healthcare programme in primary health care, secondary, and tertiary, and of course, our policy on ‘grow what you eat and eat what you grow.’ We are going to be more aggressive in the area of agriculture”, Abiodun said.
The governor stressed that his government would be relentless in the pursuit of infrastructure that would engender more socio-economic development, said that emphasis on arterial roads including the Ijebu-Ode-Epe, Sagamu-Abeokuta, Atan-Lusada-Agbara, Ota-Abeokuta, and Ilaro-Owode roads had played important roles in the state.
He said that the roads had helped to improve the State’s Internally Generated Revenue through the influx of more people and industries.
Abiodun, while acknowledging the difficulties people were going through due to the bold policies of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to pull the country out of the woods, divulged that his administration had risen to the occasion by providing needed palliatives to cushion the effects and help the people navigate the period.
“I want to assure you that we can only hope for more wins in the future. It has been a very difficult year for us all, not just as a state but as a country. Our President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, started his tenure with very bold reforms that have resulted in some unintended consequences that we must all endure so that we can have a country that is solvent”, he added
He appreciated members of the Assembly for the speedy passage of the Bill after due diligence and commended their high level of commitment to their constituents and the state, noting that their collaboration with the executive arm had led to the state growing in leaps and bounds.
Earlier, the Speaker opined that the speedy passage of the Bill was in keeping with the promise made to the governor when he presented the Bill to the assembly on the 4th of December this year, adding that no budget bill had been passed before Christmas in the past.
Elemide, who thanked the governor for the facelift given to the Assembly Complex, said his colleagues worked tirelessly to ensure that the budget was passed on time so as to keep the wheels of the state’s progress moving.
He assured that the Assembly would continue collaborating with the other arms of government to ensure that the people enjoy the dividends of democracy.
