The Ekiti State government is prioritising the completion of its ongoing airport and other critical projects in the implementation of the 2022 budget of N100.75 billion, Olufemi Ajayi, the commissioner for budget and economic planning has said.
Also listed among the projects to be given attention is the rehabilitation of roads within Ado Ekiti, the state capital, in line with the five pillars of the Governor Kayode Fayemi led administration.
Ajayi stated this at a press conference in Ado Ekiti, while giving details of the budget recently assented to by Fayemi.
The budget, according to the commissioner, would also ensure the completion of the new Governor and Deputy Governor’s lodge in Abuja, completion of one secretariat building, landscaping, and fencing of the state secretariat complex in Ado Ekiti, procurement of vehicles, and digitalisation of personnel matters.
Others include land clearing for agricultural purposes, implementation of CARES projects, completion and rehabilitation of Ado-Iworoko-Ifaki dualisation road, geographical information system (GIS), urban re-generation project, procurement of instructional materials, renovation and construction of public schools, renovation and equipping of secondary health facilities.
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About N11.6 billion out of the total budget, the commissioner said, has been earmarked for the construction of roads across the state.
Ajayi further explained that revenue of N32.6bn was expected from the federation account, N17.5bn from value- added tax (VAT), N14.2bn to be raised from internally generated revenue (IGR), N13.5bn from external grant, N6bn from internal grant, and N10bn from capital development fund with an opening balance of N7.2bn
Ajayi, accompanied by the commissioner for finance and economic development, Akintunde Oyebode, among others, assured that the government would leave no stone unturned in ensuring the full implementation of the 2022 budget through an effective revenue mobilisation strategy.
“This administration will continue its effort in putting Ekiti among the comity of states with high IGR,” adding that some of the private investments in agribusiness and others achieved through PPP would start yielding revenue in a foreseeable future.
“The gain derived from the optimal use of treasury single account will be sustained during the fiscal year 2022 with the blockage of every identifiable loophole.
Also speaking, the commissioner for finance and economic development, Oyebode said that the Fayemi administration had substantially reduced the state debt from an average of 16 percent per annum to 10 percent per annum through the improvement of the state fiscal position and reduction in the cost of borrowing.
