Infrastructure, education top as Makinde proposes N678bn for Oyo in 2025

.as govt expands social register to cover more vulnerable people

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State on Wednesday presented a proposed budget estimates of N678 billion to the State House of Assembly for legislative consideration and approval for the 2025 fiscal year.

The fiscal estimates tagged, “Budget of Economic Stabilisation” is 35% higher compared to the 2024 budget.

Presenting the budget before the State’s lawmakers, the governor said capital expenditure would gulp N349, 29 billion, representing 50.59% while N325.57billion would be allocated for the recurrent expenditure, representing 49.41% of the budget.

Infrastructure got the lion share of the budget with a sum of N152.26 billion, representing, 22.46% followed by education with a sum of N145, 25 billion, representing 21.44% of the budget.
Also, in the 2025 estimates, health got N59,411,385,714.68 (9%) and agriculture took N18,760,243,348. 45 (3%) of the budget.

Explaining the high allocation to the infrastructure and education sector, Governor Makinde recalled that the infrastructure deficit in the education sector and the administration’s inability to meet up with her plans in the current year’s budget necessitated an increase in the allocation.

While noting that the Government hoped to renovate some schools in the coming year, Governor Makinde explained that the budget for agriculture was to encourage investors in the sector, saying the plan was to bring more smiles on faces of investors, smallholder farmers, micro and small entrepreneurs, teachers and other public servants, parents, children, youths and all residents of the State.
Meanwhile, the Oyo State Government has approved the expansion of the State social register, a key repository for identifying the poor and vulnerable individuals eligible for various social interventions.

Salami Ismail, the acting Coordinator, Oyo State Operations Coordinating Unit (OYOSOCU), stated this when the SOCU team paid advocacy and sensitization visits to the political heads and management of 12 Local Government Areas that would participate in the 10th round Community Based Targeting (CBT) exercise in the State.

He said: “The expansion of the register will accommodate additional poor and vulnerable households as some have exited the vulnerability threshold while others have newly fallen into it.”