Make governance your business, Oyo commissioner urges residents

Oyo State’s Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Musbau Babatunde, has implored people to make business of governance their business.

Musbau, a professor made the appeal while giving his opening remarks during the public presentation of citizens accountability report on implementation of Oyo state’s 2020 budget, in Ibadan.

The Commissioner said the participation is important because the state’s current administration is making budgeting processing participatory through stakeholders meeting between the seven geo-political zones of the Pace-setter.

While analyzing the overview of the 2020 budget tagged the peoples budget passed on 15th December 2019 paving way for implementation on 1st January, 2020, Musbau Babatunde, a Professor noted that the COVID-19 pandemic caused the budget’s revision towards a supplementary budget passed on 15th July, 2020.

In disseminating citizen’s Accountabiliy Report on implementation of the year 2020 budget, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Mofoluke Adebiyi, stated that procedures and checks were followed in the preparation of the 2020 budget.

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During her presentation in Nine-sections, Mofoluke Adebiyi, described the Citizens Accountability Report as a series ofgrahic and tabular illustrations of the contents of audited financial statements prepared by a state’s Audit office to ensure accountability of public funds.

Adebiyi also emphasized that the Citizens Accountability Report details the government’s performance in executing the duties assigned to it and utilization of funds in Government’s coffers.

During the forum which recorded attendance of lawmakers of the Oyo state’s House of Assembly, stakeholders requested prompt publication of audit reports for adequate information and effectiveness of projects executed from the Peoples budget.

Appropriation Committee of the Oyo state’s House of Assembly, civil servants, youths attended the programme aimed at ensuring peoples continued participation in budget and budgeting processes.

It was deduced during the forum that budgeting covers Education, Economic Planning, Infrastructure, housing development, health, justice, agriculture, youths development, tourism, water, rural development and human development.

It was also realized that top value projects contained in budgetary processes includes special projects, rehabilitation and repair of public schools, construction and provision of roads, erection of traffic and street lights, repair of roads, electricity and provision of agricultural facilities.