News
Ajimobi presents N267 budget of stability, receives defector from Accord Party
Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State on Thursday presented a budget of N267bn which represents an increase of 28% on the 2017 budget.
The 2018 fiscal appropriation of the state is tagged Budget of Stabilization and it has a difference of N60bn from that of 2017 which had the figure of N207bn.
One of the highlights of the budget presentation was the cross-carpeting of a staunch member of the opposition party in the State House of Assembly, Hon. Joshua Oyebamiji, representing Akinyele State Constituency to the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).
The budget presentation witnessed the presence of eminent personalities in the state including former Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja, Former Senate Leader, Senator Teslim Folarin, Former Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Ashimiyu Alarape, traditional rulers , led by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, Aseyin of Iseyin, Oba Salawudeen Adekunle Ajinese 1, Eleruwa of Eruwa, Oba Samuel Adegbola, the Olubadan in Council, Party stalwarts as well as members of the Ibadan Elders Forum led by Ambassador Olu Sanu.
Governor Ajimobi informed the members of the house that the budget submitted for consideration and approval of the legislature stood at N267,436,357,912.19, stressing that detailed facts behind the budget would be made known later by the State Ministry of Finance, Budget and Planning.
The governor explained that the proposed budget is expected to be funded from Internally Generated revenue of N112.10bn, Federation Account N93.68bn, Capital Receipts of N43.72bn, Transfer (LG, JAAC for LGSPB & LGSC) of N7.53bn and an unspent income of N10.40bn from 2017.
Senator Ajimobi said that the structure of the 2018 budgetary proposal reflects the priority the Government has accorded the various sectors in terms of their expected developmental effects, noting that the relative aggregate sectoral allocations were Economic Sector N85.390bn (57.29%), Social Services Sector N54.280bn (36.42%), Law & Justice Sector N0.517bn (0.35%) and General Administration Sector N8.860bn (5.94).
According to him, “The aggregate percentage of 93.71% of the capital expenditure allocated to the economic and social sub-sectors underscores the State Government’s determination to continue to pursue a people-centered, empowerment-focused agenda. We consider this as the best antidote to the problem of poverty amongst our people.
“It is to be recalled that apart from consistently utilizing more than the stipulated minimum of all the recurrent intervention from the federal government to settle salary/pension and arrears, our administration had conceded 100% monthly allocation from the federation accounts to payment of salaries and pensions of the State’s work force,” he added.
The Governor assured that his administration will further strengthen monitoring, supervision and inspection of our teaching staff as well as roll out policies that will culminate to better performance of students at national and international examinations, adding that the State Government has awarded the construction and renovation of structures in Schools towards the provision of conducive environment for teaching and learning in our various schools with continued restructuring exercise in respect of staff redistribution with emphasis on professionalism and competence.
Governor Ajimobi pointed out that elections into our Local Government Areas and the newly created Local Council Development Areas will hold in 2018, adding “this is intended to bring governance to the door steps of the people and to enhance development at the grassroots. Therefore, the content and structure of this proposal have captured our vision towards achieving this and the continuation of our developmental strides in the 2018 fiscal year.”
He hinted that necessary actions would be taken to further control hazards associated with sanitation and street trading as more neighborhood markets would be established to cut down on centralization of social facilities in the cities which always lead to urban crisis.
He listed areas where rehabilitation and expansion of water projects would be embarked upon in the coming year to include rehabilitation of Igboho water supply scheme at a cost of N474m, rehabilitation of Owode water supply scheme with N200m, expansion of Ogbomoso/Ikoyi-Ile water supply scheme and procurement of water treatment chemical, worth N500m.
In Agriculture, Governor Ajimobi said the State government would to procure sufficient mechanization equipment which could be adapted by youths to enhance mechanized farming in the State.
He said, “It gladdens me to register my sincere appreciation for the wonderful support that our administration has enjoyed from all segments of the State. These range from our highly revered traditional rulers to community, political, opinion leaders, professional and trade groups, market women, civil society and nongovernmental organizations as well as students across all educational levels.
“You have all demonstrated to us your readiness to contribute directly or indirectly to the State’s economic growth. On the other hand, I appeal to tax defaulters to perform their civic responsibilities and join hands with others to contribute to government efforts at advancing the development of the State with its attendant socio – economic benefits,” Governor Ajimobi added.
Receiving the 2018 budget proposal, the Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Michael Adeyemo promised to support the administration of Senator Abiola Ajimobi and work in harmony with the executive to see to the transformation and repositioning of the State.
He said “We appreciate the good efforts of the Ajimobi-led executive and promise to give prompt and adequate attention to the passage of the 2018 fiscal budget. It is our wish that members will keep up the good work that has transformed into the notable achievements of this administration and we promise to continue working in harmony with the executive to achieve greater yields of democratic dividends for our people.”
Dangote Petroleum Refinery has made headlines by announcing a further reduction in the price of diesel, dropping it from ₦1200 to ₦1000 naira per litre.
The refinery’s decision comes on the heels of its recent supply at a significantly reduced price of ₦1200 per litre, which was introduced three weeks ago, signifying a remarkable 30 per cent decrease from the previous market price of approximately ₦1600 per litre.
This substantial reduction in diesel prices at Dangote Petroleum Refinery is expected to reiterate positively throughout various sectors of the economy, potentially serving as a catalyst in alleviating the persistently high inflation rate in the country.
In a statement last week, Aliko Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest individual and the owner of the refinery, expressed his optimism regarding the potential impact of the price reduction on inflation in Nigeria.
“I believe that we are on the right track. I believe Nigerians have been patient, and I also believe that a lot of goodies will now come through. There’s quite a lot of improvement because if you look at it, one of the major issues that we’ve had was the naira devaluation that has gone very aggressively up to about ₦1900,” he remarked.
As anticipation builds around the implications of this move by Dangote Petroleum Refinery, stakeholders and consumers alike remain hopeful for the positive effects it could bring to the Nigerian economy in the coming months.
More than 50,000 Russian military personnel have died during the Ukraine conflict, the BBC reported Wednesday, citing its own reporters, independent media group Mediazona and volunteers.
They found that more than 27,300 Russian soldiers died during the second year of the war, a 25-percent increase on the first year.
BBC Russian, Mediazona and volunteers have been counting deaths since February 2022, using open-source information from official reports and the media, as well as using satellite images of Russian cemeteries to estimate the number of new graves.
The figure of more than 50,000 is eight times higher than the official toll acknowledged by Moscow in September 2022. It does not include deaths of militia in Donetsk and Lugansk in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine said in February that it had lost 31,000 soldiers, but that figure is also likely to be significantly lower than the true toll.
Russian losses spiked in January 2023 as it launched a large-scale offensive in Donetsk and again months later last year during the battle for the city of Bakhmut.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” at dawn on February 24, 2022, which has since turned into a bloody and attritional war, isolating Russia from the Western world.
Responding to the report, the Kremlin said it did not disclose any information on military deaths and casualties, which falls under the remit of the defence ministry.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added official secrets laws and those covering what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine meant it was “absolutely understandable” that the ministry did not release the figures.
The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has disclosed that 95 million Nigerians need to enroll for the National Identification Number (NIN) to meet its target of 200 million enrollments by 2025.
Kayode Adegoke, Head of Corporate Communications at NIMC, emphasised the importance of this enrollment during an interview on X over the weekend.
He stated, “For NIMC to meet the 200 million target by 2025, 95 million Nigerians need to register for the NIN.”
Adegoke revealed that over 105 million NINs have been issued to Nigerians and legal residents so far.
He assured Nigerians of the commission’s commitment, saying, “We want to assure Nigerians that within the next one or two years, we will reach our target of enrolling all Nigerians.”
“The NIN serves as a unique identifier for each citizen and has become increasingly important for various government initiatives aimed at improving security, governance, and service delivery.”
Adegoke highlighted the efforts to streamline the modification and enrollment processes under the leadership of Abisoye Coker, the director-general of NIMC. He announced the development of a self-service platform, allowing Nigerians to make necessary modifications such as changing names, dates of birth, email addresses, and phone numbers from anywhere, using different devices.
Emphasising the convenience of the self-service modification portal, Adegoke encouraged Nigerians to utilize this innovative solution.
He noted the evolution of the process, citing the past requirement for applicants to visit NIMC offices for data corrections.
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