Exclusive: Makinde rejects 2021 budget jerked up to N273.7b by Oyo Assembly

Oyo state governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde has withhold his signature from a N273.7billion increased budget recently sent to him by the Oyo State House of Assembly while he considers its effect on the state, Mega Icon Magazine exclusively gathered.

Mega Icon Magazine, reliably gathered that Governor Makinde , who expressed serious reservation over the whooping sum of N273.7billion, also expressed displeasure over the development, discribing  it as outrageous and unacceptable.

Mega Icon Magazine checks revealed that the proposed budget for the 2021 fiscal year, tagged: “Budget of Continued Consolidation,” which was a total of N266.6billion when presented recently by Governor Makinde was increased to the tune of  N273.7 Billion by the States’ lawmakers.              

Further checks also unearthed that the House of Assembly approved and passed the sum of N273.7billion, late night on Tuesday.

It was also gathered that the Chairman of the state Assembly Committee on Public account, finance and Appropriation,  Hon. Akeem Mustapha, informed that the ammendment proposed that the sum of over N136billion was replaced with the sum of over N137billion for total recurrent expenditure.

While the Amendment proposed of over N130.3 billion was replaced with over N136.1 billion for total capital expenditures.

Justifying its claims, the Speaker, Oyo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adebo Ogundoyin, while speaking with journalists after the Tuesday’s  plenary, noted that the recurrent and capital expenditure are so close because the State desire more infrastructural development in 2021.

According to the Speaker, “We pledged our renewed commitment to thoroughly scrutinize the bill and give it accelerated passage, when it was brought to us by the executive and we have done just that.

“We often stop at this. We will always ensure and promote budget performance through our constitutional oversight functions, because we cannot afford disappointing the good people of Oyo State”, he added.

Meanwhile, Mega Icon Magazine took up a legal luminary, Asiwaju Adebayo Mutalubi Ojo  on this development.

The former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, Ojo averred that it is within their powers (the lawmakers) to reduce or increase or leave the proposed budget as it is.

“The power of appropriation lies with the parliament as they are the representatives  of the people”, Ojo said.

However, this development sounds like a litmus test for the lawmakers. The lawmakers are expected, again to review and re-pass the budget before proceeding on recess as directed by Governor Seyi Makinde, sources revealed.