There was a plethora of demands for good governance during the electioneering campaign by the people of Edo State as the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its standard-bearer, Godwin Obaseki traversed every nook and cranny of the 192 political wards across the 18 Local Government Areas of the state some months ago, soliciting votes from the electorate.
The campaigns which kicked off from the Kukuruku Hill in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area to the entire enclave of Afenmailand, down to the Northern Ishan plain of the old Agbazillo/Okpebholo of the present Edo Central senatorial district to Igbanke, Ologbo, Ajoki and Agbanikaka in Orhionmwon, Ikpoba Okha and Ovia South West Local Government Areas all in Edo South senatorial district was characterised by residents demanding increased dividends of democracy.
Among the specific demands were good road networks, social amenities like hospitals, healthcare facilities, water, rehabilitation/ construction of schools, adequate teaching and non- teaching staff in public primary and post- primary schools, medical and health personnel in public hospitals, adequate drugs and medication, establishment of industries and resuscitation of the moribund ones to provide jobs for the growing number of unemployed youths in the state, tackling of the unabated insecurity, provision of the necessary incentives to farmers to boost agricultural productivity, among others.
Obaseki graciously promised to fulfil their demands if re-elected for a second term of another four years.
With the subsequent victory at the polls, the onus to meet the demands and aspirations of the people as promised during the electioneering campaigns now lies at the doorstep of Governor Godwin Obaseki.
Apart from the people’s demands, the governor had through his “Making Edo Great Again” (MEGA), manifesto reeled out policies, programmes and reforms to better the lives of the people as well as change the narratives of governance in the state in the second term in office.
The first constitutional responsibility Obaseki undertook geared towards the implementation of the MEGA Agenda, as he began his second term governorship journey was the presentation of the 2021 budget estimates of N153,4billion to the State House of Assembly, christened, “Make Edo Great Again” (MEGA) budget on Tuesday, November 10, 2020.
The 2021 Appropriation Bill was crafted taking into consideration the new fiscal and macro-economic realities currently faced globally that was largely triggered by Coronavirus pandemic and as a result of the prolonged trade tensions between the United States of America (USA) and China, the two largest economies in the world and the Brexit.
A look at the ‘MEGA’ Agenda
In his inaugural speech, titled, ‘Consolidating Progress’ on Wednesday, November 12, 2020, shortly after taking the oath of office and allegiance for a second term, Obaseki listed areas the ‘MEGA’ budget would focus on to include thus:
To grow the social sector by constantly improving education, healthcare system, provision of social security and safety nets, caring for the vulnerable and the disadvantaged in the state.
Rapidly develop critical energy, housing, digital and road Infrastructure, which provides a framework to drive inclusive growth.
Build the economy and drive industrialisation, trade and investment, to solidify the state’s status as the choice investment destination in the country.
Preserve the environment and public utilities, to make Edo state more functional and adapt to the challenges of climate change and rural-urban migration. The major drive will be the clean and green Edo initiative and sustaining campaigns to plant trees and restore the forest.
Enshrine peace amongst the people and improve the general security to lives and property within the state, by working closely with all religious, traditional and community stakeholders
Exploit agriculture and natural resources, by tapping God-given resources to provide food security, create wealth and improve the livelihoods of our people.
Strengthen public service, public finance and public revenue, by recalibrating workforce for the future world of work.
Sustain Law, Judiciary and Legal Reforms, to ensure justice, equity and fairness in private and public dealings.
Promote Arts and Culture, to preserve the past, document the present, envision the future, and use arts and culture as a springboard to develop tourism
Revamp the Transport sector, by developing transport infrastructure to a more modern and affordable system.
“We have also identified key initiatives that will drive public service reforms over the next twelve months by accelerating capacity building; finding new ways of working and operationalising the Civil Service Training Centre as a centre of excellence in training public servants.
He also disclosed that a target of ensuring a defined template for development and growth in our state up till 2050, “we have set the modalities for a 30-year development plan to provide government with necessary tools, guidelines and milestones for development planning and among other promises made during the campaigns.
What the 2021 Budget estimates tend to achieve
It is a known fact globally that governments, individuals and private sectors realise and actualise their policies, programmes and plans through deliberate articulation of budget proposals.
To ensure that the MEGA manifesto are adequately implemented in fulfilment of the promises made, the state governor said the N153.4billion estimate, is a 9.7 percent higher than the 2020 revised budget of N139.8billion.
The budget is made up of N94.8 billion and N58.6billion for recurrent expenditure and capital expenditure, respectively.
The budget according to the governor will be financed from the Federation Allocation Account of N71billion, State Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of N36billion, Grants of N9.8billion, Loans of N15.3billion, capital development fund receipts of N13.8billion and opening balance of N7.5billion of the 2020 fiscal year.
The governor, who said the recurrent expenditure of the 2021 fiscal year budget proposal was higher than the capital expenditure, noted that it would help to ease the social and economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He explained that the projected N71billion receipt from the Federation Account is reflective of a 23 percent increase in the price per barrel of crude currently trading at a price of $28 per barrel in 2020.
Obaseki, who also opined that the 70 percent of the N9.8 billion expected during the fiscal year is a stimulus to reinvigorate the state economy as a result of the devastating impact of the Covid -19 pandemic, added that 30 percent of the balance are grants targeted at basic and technical education sectors.
“The N15.3 billion loan receipts are credit lines from the World Bank and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), targeted development projects in the agriculture, education and rural development sectors.
“The total loan size is well within the 15 percent fiscal deficit ceiling prescribed by the Federal government,” he said.
He assured that his administration has put structures in place to ensure that the fiscal deficit established in the budget is below the recommended deficit ceiling in order to ensure a positive solvency position for the government.
“In collaboration with the State House of Assembly we have designed a unique instrument through which the state government can attract private sector funding targeted at key development projects,” the governor said.
According to him, “This was done in a manner that does not place heavy burden on the state government’s balance sheet. Our combined efforts have thus led to our ability to syndicate N25billion of private sector funding, of which N13.8 billion will crystallise in 2021 fiscal year.”
He also explained that the N94.8billion recurrent expenditure estimates for the fiscal year represent a 24 percent growth from the N76.6billion actual expected receipts in 2020.
He attributed the increase in the recurrent expenditure to include increase in allocation for salary payment and pension contributions to carter for new employees occasioned by the ongoing civil service transformation project.
He gave the sectoral breakdown of the budget to include, N8.7 billion for administration, N36.7billion for economic, N12.9billion to the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (Edo-BEST) programme, N12.7billion for social sector, N450million for Law and Justice.
Obaseki said the impact areas for 2021 fiscal year include education, which will gulp N20.8 billion; human capital and civil service reforms, N6.1 billion; pension and gratuities, N12.8 billion; contribution to the State Health Insurance Scheme, N1 billion; health sector, N10.3 billion and physical, urban and regional planning, which will gulp N9 billion.
The sum of N14.8 billion was allocated to roads and transport infrastructure, N9 billion for physical, urban and region planning and N7.6 billion for other economic growth and employment enablers.
The budget may not be a cure-all as challenges abound
Having outlined and articulated how the budget will be expended in the next 12 months, the questions that are bothering the minds of many Edo people is about how the governor could meet their expectations and put smiles on their faces with the budget estimate of N153.4billion amid daunting economic challenges.
Will the governor meet their aspirations or address other challenges brought upon by the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Correctional Services, and other individuals that lost their properties worth hundreds of millions of naira to the recent #ENDSARS protest?
Will the government not also fix the state-owned property like the Edo Development Property Authority (EDPA), Emotan Gardens, the State Pharmaceutical Stores that were attacked by suspected hoodlums?
A resident of Benin, a civil engineer by profession, said on condition of anonymity that all eyes are on Governor Obaseki to meet his campaign promises.
“We all know that there is usually a wide gap between cmapiagn promises and fulfillment of such promises, but I am very optimistic that the governor would do far better this time around than in his first term, despite the numerous challenges confronting him,” the engineer said.
“It is not just reeling out things like we are going to invest in education, invest in health, among others; this is the same thing yearly and that is why at the end of the year no tangible difference is observed with the budget, says Tony Abolo, a Benin-based development economist.
“My suggestion is that we need a broad based data gathering in such a way that you visit different hinterlands in the state, then get information to know the content of their desire. Then you now know what direction and amount you need. It is not about putting figures annually,” he said.
Abolo, who is also an ace broadcaster, faulted the way government at all levels handle budget proposal, adding that budget estimates is an annual ritual that rarely meet expectations.
While stressing the need to know the genuine needs of the people, he posited that investment in standard healthcare system and specialised techniques would reduce medical tourism.
“What is the template, are you doing preventive healthcare; are you serving the local or urban people? We need a standard and robust healthcare system
“My worry is that we do not gather enough data in this society to be able to tell ourselves what and where to touch first that can propel the change you are looking for,” he said.
