I am very pleased to stand before you today in this hallowed chamber to present the 2025 Appropriation Bill and Budget Estimates in fulfillment of my Constitutional responsibility as the Governor of our dear State. Distinguished Honourable Members, this is my second time in this hallowed chamber in the month of October, 2024. I was here on October 16, 2024 to give my account of stewardship to the good people of Ekiti State.
I am here again today, to present the 2025 Appropriation Bill to the esteemed Honourable Members for scrutiny and subsequent passage into Law. Mr. Speaker, today is very significant in the history of our dear State, as we take another step through the instrumentality of Budget being an important fiscal document for sustainable development and the realization of our dream to create Shared Prosperity for the people of our dear State.
First, I give glory to God Almighty, the giver of life for His mercies over our dear State. Despite the economic situation, the Lord has been gracious to us as a people. His abundant mercies are made manifest in the relative peace we enjoy in the State which culminated in various developmental projects we have been able to execute since the beginning of 2024 fiscal year.Furthermore, I wish to sincerely appreciate the Rt. Honourable Speaker, and all the distinguished members of Ekiti State House of Assembly for your commitment and support. I commend the harmonious working relationship between the executive and legislature. Your commitment to quality legislation which is evident to all is a major contributory factor to our collective achievement as a Government. An evidence of the quality of your leadership and the positive changes you are bringing to legislation in our dear State is the award you recently received as the most IT compliant House of Assembly in the country. I congratulate you, Mr Speaker, and indeed all members of the House of Assembly.
We are all proud of your progressive and innovative credentials. Distinguished Lawmakers, may I also express my profound gratitude to Mr. President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR for his very strong support and to the good people of Ekiti State for their overwhelming support to our administration.
This support has been helpful in our quest to deliver on our mandate in the face of daunting economic challenges.Let me use this opportunity to reaffirm my commitment and dedication to uphold the tenets of good governance.
With your support, I assure the good people of Ekiti State of our commitment to protect lives and properties, provide necessary infrastructure, create more job opportunities and maintain good relations with all and sundry.
Mr. Speaker, distinguished Honourable Members, Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish to emphasize that the 2024 Budget, christened Budget of Sustainable Growth and Development, has further built on the foundation for the actualization of our visions of engendering sustainable growth and development in our dear State. Therefore, it is of great essence to review the performance of the Budget of the outgoing year as it will provide justifications for the fiscal policy objectives of government for the next fiscal year.
You will recall that the size of the 2024 Approved Budget was One Hundred and Fifty Nine Billion, Five Hundred and Seventy Two Million, Four Hundred and Eighty One Thousand, Nine Hundred and Fifteen Naira and Sixty One kobo (N159,572,481,915.61). This is made up of N88,952,583,682.41 Recurrent Expenditure and N70,619,898,233.20 Capital Expenditure and gives a Recurrent/Capital ratio of 56:44 per cent.Revenue performance of the 2024 Budget as of August 2024 is shown on the table below:
The sum of N159,572,481,915.61 was appropriated as total Revenue Estimate in 2024 Budget. However, as at August 30, the actual Revenue was N237,051,898,318.65 which represents 149% of the total Revenue Estimates in the approved 2024 budget. The impressive performance was due to a combination of higher than expected Statutory Allocation and Independent Revenues. The increased Statutory Allocation is attributable to the interventions/supports from the Federal Government while the Independent Revenue performance was as a result of the various initiatives and new reforms introduced by the Ekiti State Internal Revenue Service (EKIRS). The improvement in the State Revenue portends an enhancement of the ability of the Government to fulfil its obligations and deliver dividends of democracy to our people.Owing to this very impressive revenue performance, we have proposed a Supplementary Appropriation Bill, which has been laid before this Honourable House of Assembly for consideration and passage into law.
At this juncture, I wish to reiterate my appeal to the House for a speedy passage of the Supplementary Appropriation Bill.This administration has executed and completed many landmark projects in the year 2024, details of the completed and ongoing projects have been presented to this Honourable House during the State of the State address on October 16, 2024.
OVERVIEW OF 2025 BUDGET
The proposed 2025 Budget will focus on food security, wealth creation and welfare of our people. It is important to reiterate that our Shared Prosperity agenda is hinged on six strategic pillars, which cut across all the sub-sectors of the economy. The six pillars are:GovernanceYouth Development and Job Creation;Human Capital Development;Agriculture and Rural Development;Infrastructure and Industrialization; andArts, Culture and Tourism These pillars highlight our priorities as an administration. Our objective is to create sustainable prosperity and grow the economy by equipping our people with the requisite skills, creating jobs for our youths and women, and exposing them to information communication technology and expanding the range of opportunities available for everyone. We are poised to sustain and create more conducive environment for investors and make Ekiti State the preferred destination to live, work, and invest. The proposed 2025 Budget was prepared in line with global best practices and enabling policy frameworks. It took into consideration, the guidelines of Open Governance Policy (OGP), Fiscal Sustainability Plan (FSP), and the Financial Management Law of Ekiti State.
Distinguished parliamentarians, in line with our Open Governance Policy and participatory governance, it is instructive to note that the proposed 2025 Budget preparation process was conducted with respect to our avowed principle of inclusive participation. We held town hall meetings across the three senatorial districts for our people to collate, articulate and for us to listen to the needs of various towns and communities for consideration in the 2025 Budget.
Many of the inputs obtained during the engagements have been incorporated into this proposal in fulfillment of our bottom-up approach to government policy formulation and implementation.You would recall that I had earlier forwarded to this distinguished House, the 2025-2027 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), which is the forerunner of the 2025 Fiscal Estimate.
The MTEF relies on both domestic and global economic parameters, assumptions and key indicators to make realistic projections for 2025 – 2027. The process also took into cognizance, the State’s 30-year Development Plan spanning (2021–2050). Let me state that a Zero-Based Budget method was adopted in the proposals of Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
It is also imperative to note that the document was prepared in line with the National Chart of Account (NCoA) Budget Template, as uniformly agreed by sub-nationals and as eligibility criteria for the World Bank’s States Action on Business Enabling Reform-Programme for Results.
Mr Speaker, Sir, you may wish to note that all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) had earlier developed Work Plans to guide their activities. The proposed 2025 Budget reflects the Work Plans of the MDAs and are in alignment with the vision of this administration. At this juncture, I want to appreciate the Nigeria Governors’ Forum for the recommendation on the Parameters, Assumptions and Indicators (PAI) to sub-nationals for adoption in the preparation of the 2025 Estimates. The PAIs are as follows:
The proposed 2025 Budget has been carefully prepared to consolidate on on-going capital projects and address the temporary economic hardship, occasioned by the petrol subsidy removal and unification of exchange rate by improving our agricultural sector through provision of incentives, seedling, and farm machineries to enhance food security in the State. In addition, the informal sector will be accorded priority attention. The need to provide enabling business environment for existing and emerging businesses cannot be overemphasized.
Therefore, we as a Government shall provide various empowerment programmes for Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMSEs) in the State. In the same vein, we shall provide grants and facilitate credit facilities to business owners. All registered cooperatives in the State will be provided with the needed support to enhance their activities.
OBJECTIVES OF THE 2025 BUDGET
The objectives of 2025 Budget have been tailored towards the realization of the Shared Prosperity vision and the Six (6) Pillars of our administration. The objectives are as follows:to further improve revenue generation drive by re-invigorating and strengthening the capacity of the Ekiti State Internal Revenue Service and other Revenue Generating MDAs;to promote social inclusion and human capital development in the State with a view to enhancing individual’s dignity, security and opportunity to live a better life;to further boost agriculture for efficient, stable and resilient food system thus, enabling the State to meet local demand for food and ensure food security;to realize the long term aspiration of making Ekiti State the best place to live, to work, to visit and invest by 2050;to enhance quality health care delivery through the implementation of strategic heath policies;to further create employment opportunities and attract investments through the creation of enabling environment;to enhance productivity through technological development/digitization of the Public Service;to provide community and tourist-friendly facilities to promote culture and tourism and boost the State’s economy;to improve Youth Engagement, Participation and Empowerment, and promote values re-orientation and productivity.
REVENUE ESTIMATES
As I earlier stated, the Executive has prepared a Supplementary proposal which is currently before this distinguished Honourable members. The 2024 Proposed Supplementary Estimates with a size of N372,154,157,569.39 is made up of N174,512,458,551.61 Recurrent Expenditure and N197,641,699,017.78 Capital Expenditure. This represents Recurrent/Capital ratio of 46:54.
Distinguished Speaker and Honourable Members, to consolidate on the achievements recorded in various sectors of the economy, we have proposed a total Budget size of N375,790,077,618.15 for 2025.
Expected revenue sources are Federal Allocation, Value Added Tax (VAT), Independent Revenue (from MDAs and Tertiary Institutions), International Donors Agencies and other sundry income sources.
The 2025 Revenue projections is a reflection of the State and national economic outlook for the next fiscal year. As a Government we are optimistic that the Independent Revenue of the State will improve in 2025 with the concerted efforts of the Ekiti State Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and other revenue generating agencies.
In the same vein, in view of our cordial relationship with the Federal Government, we are hopeful of the continued support of the Federal Government to Ekiti State. We also hope to strengthen our collaboration with our development Partners to assist with implementation of our various programmes and initiatives.
Following the Revenue forecast for 2025, the Recurrent Expenditure in the proposed 2025 Budget is One Hundred and Ninety Two Billion, Three Hundred and Twenty Six Million, Five Hundred and Seventy Thousand, Four Hundred and Eighty Eight Naira, Sixty One Kobo (N192, 326, 570, 488. 61), representing 51% of the total Budget while the Capital Expenditure is N183,463,507,129.54 representing 49%.
The Recurrent Expenditure include Personnel Cost, Overhead Cost, Social Contributions and Benefits, Debt Service and Grants while Capital Expenditure relates to the cost of infrastructure and other developmental projects. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to inform you that this administration remains committed to the welfare of workers. We have cleared the backlog of outstanding salaries owed to State workers as promised during our electioneering campaign. Also, a total of N5.4 billion have been disbursed to settle arrears of gratuity owed by the State. We shall continue to defray these obligations as funds become available. Mr Speaker Sir, it would please you to know that negotiations are on-going on the implementation of the new minimum wage to workers and pensioners in the State. Meanwhile, we have made provisions to accommodate the implementatiomn of the new minimum wage in the proposed 2025 Budget.CAPITAL EXPENDITURE Distinguished Honourable members, the importance of infrastructure to economic development cannot be over-emphasized. While we are making concerted effort to bridge the infrastructure deficit, we are also poised to create the enabling environment for investors in the State to increase our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Therefore, I wish to reiterate the commitment of our administration to provide basic and essential public infrastructure for sustainable economic growth. Accordingly, we shall focus on completing on-going infrastructural projects across the State in the coming year.
The sum of One Hundred and Eighty Three Billion, Four Hundred and Sixty Three Million, Five Hundred and Seven Thousand, One Hundred and Twenty Nine Naira, Fifty Four Kobo (N183,463,507,129.54) has been proposed as Capital Expenditure for 2025 fiscal year. This amount represents 49% of the total Budget size. The amount has been distributed into the various sectors of the economy as follows:
The above figures, especially the allocation of 85% of our Capital Expenditure to the Economic Sector, underscores our Shared Prosperity agenda and focus on food security, employment generation and wealth creation in the year 2025.
ECONOMIC SECTOR
The Economic Sector is made up of Agriculture and Food Security, Rural Development, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Social Investments Programmes, Arts, Culture and Tourism and Infrastructure. This Sector plays a vital role owing to its capacity to engender sustainable growth and development.
The sum of N138,180,631,817.48 has been projected as Capital Expenditure for the sector in the proposed 2025 Budget. These are some of the major projects to be executed under the economic sector:Acquisition and clearing of land to enhance access to arable land and promote cluster farming; Ekiti Youth in Agriculture programme, Promotion of livestock farming including broiler, goat and pig production, Construction of fabrication hub and training centres for artisans, Garment production hub, Construction of wet markets; Creation of export processing centres; Implementation of the Ekiti Knowledge Zone project; Promote Agric mechanization , irrigation , warehouse and mini silos construction; Construction of the Renewed Hope Farm Settlements across the State.
ARTS, CULTURE AND TOURISM
The need to promote our cultural heritage and tourist attraction sites cannot be overemphasised. In view of the importance attached to this Sector, we have earmarked the sum of N1,000,000,000.00 for the construction/completion of the Cultural Centre at Water Works, Ajilosun, Ado Ekiti in the proposed Budget. In the same vein, adequate provisions have been made in the 2025 Budget to develop our tourist sites to enhance the contribution of this Sector to the State economy.
INFRASTRUCTURE
Mr. Speaker and Distinguished Members, you will agree with me that our administration has carried out massive infrastructural development in the last two years. The administration is still committed to providing adequate infrastructural facilities in the State to strengthen our economy and improve the lives of the people. Therefore, the vast portion of our Capital Budget has been allocated to this sector, which will focus on Water Supply, Electricity, Housing, improved Road Network and completion of on-going infrastructural projects across the State. Some of the critical projects proposed in the budget for 2025 include:
completion of the 1km flyover bridge from Union Bank in Ajilosun to First Bank at Okeyinmi, Ado Ekiti;rehabilitation of Oke Ayedun-Ipao-Oke Ako-IreleRoad;reconstruction of Awo-Ara-Ijero Ekiti Road;completion of Ikere-Igbara Odo roadCompletion of Ikole-Ara-Isinbode Road.construction of Rural/Farm Access Roads at: a. Enu Odi-Igirigiri road, Ado Ekiti;b. Omisanjana-Ben Folarin-Oke Aso road;c. Ise-Imola road;d. Owode-Anaye road;e. Afolu-Odofin road;f. Oye-Are road and Ilupeju-Igbo Egan road. g. Iye-Isapa-Olopemeji-Ikun road;h. Erinmope-Irare-Ikosu road;i. Igbole-Egan-Osi-Iropora road;j. FMS Farm-Oke Ako road;k. Ikogosi-Aba-Ori Okuta-Ikogosi road; and l. Ara-Ekameta school road.vii. provision of potable Water and Sanitation Facilities across the Stateviii. Rural electrification; Control of flood and erosion control works; Renovation of primary and secondary schools across the State; Infrastructure support for tertiary institutions; Construction of indoor sports hall.
LAW AND JUSTICE SECTORHonourable Members, adequate provisions have been made in the proposed Budget to enhance the activities of the Legislature and the Judiciary as separate Arms of Government. In this regard, we have prioritized the completion of the renovation works at the House of Assembly and procurement of vehicles for our Judges and other Judicial staff in the proposed Budget. My administration will continue to uphold the autonomy of both Arms of Government for better performance of their constitutional functions.
REGIONAL SECTOR
I am quite aware of the state of most of our federal roads, which are in a deplorable condition. I want to assure you that we are engaging the Federal Government on how to address the situation. It is important to appreciate the efforts and collaboration of our federal lawmakers in this regard. Also, we will intensify collaborative efforts with the South Western Sister States to implement projects to promote sustainable development in the region.
ADMINISTRATIVE SECTOR
Our public service will be strengthened in the coming year to promote efficient and effective service delivery through digitization of our processes, workflows and human capital development in accordance with global best practices.
This administration has been inclusive, responsive, accountable and transparent. We shall continue to engage Civil Society Groups for feedback on our policies and programmes. Through this and complementary actions, we will further ensure and deepen participatory democratic governance in our State.
SOCIAL INVESTMENTS
Ekiti Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus (EK- CARES)Our administration has made adequate budgetary provision to continue with our various collaborative projects such as the Ekiti Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus (EK- CARES) programmes such as Labour Intensive Public Works, MSME Economic Recovery, FADAMA and EKCSDA) to cushion the effect of subsidy removal and unification of the exchange rate on our people. To improve the health status and life expectancy of our people, adequate provision has been made for the renovation, maintenance and equipping of Primary Health Facilities across the State. In addition, the structures and environment of our schools will be improved upon to make learning and teaching more conducive and attractive.
Support for Special and Vulnerable Groups
We shall intensify our efforts at engendering inclusiveness and making life more meaningful for people with special needs and vulnerable segments of our society.
Specifically, we shall be renovating the 3 special schools across our three senatorial districts. In addition, we shall expend significant resources on programmes aimed at promoting skill acquisition by our women, youths and people living with disability. These programmes will include training and supply of work tools among others.
INTERNAL SECURITY
On security, we are aware of the security challenges in our nation. Budgetary provision has been made to enhance the security of lives and properties in our State and also attract the much needed investments to enhance the economic development of our State. Our Government will continue to invest in and strengthen the Safe City Project to protect our people from crime and banditry. In the coming year, we will collaborate more actively with and intensify our support to Federal Security outfits in the State. We are aware of the nefarious activities of some unscrupulous elements with respect to the security of students in our schools. We shall strengthen the security architecture of our public schools and bring such elements to justice.
APPRECIATION
At this juncture, I wish to express my profound appreciation to the members of the State House of Assembly for their cooperation, collaboration and support. You are indeed, dependable partners in progress. Thank you very much. In addition, I acknowledge, with thanks, members of the State Executive Council for assisting in the preparation of the draft budget and overall commitment to the delivery of our promise to Ekiti Kete. I sincerely appreciate our revered Royal Fathers for gracing this occasion. We appreciate all your sacrifices and we remain committed to your welfare.
I also appreciate our Development Partners, Civil Society Organizations, Fiscal Coordinating Agencies and Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for their efforts in producing realistic estimates for the next fiscal year.
To the Gentlemen of the Press and other media houses, thank you for gracing this occasion. We count on your cooperation and support as we continue to move our dear State forward. I solicit your cooperation and enjoin you to keep hope alive as we strive to move the State Forward for the betterment of all.
CONCLUSION
Mr. Speaker, Honourable members, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, the policy thrust, programmes and projects of this administration for 2025 are contained in the draft Budget that I will soon lay before you. We pray for blessings from above to enable us implement the Budget as planned.I implore this Honourable House for timely consideration and passage of the 2025 Appropriation Bill without compromising quality and thoroughness, to enable earnest implementation from January 1, 2025.
The Honourable Commissioner for Budget, Economic Planning and Performance Management will present the breakdown and analysis of the Budget to the general public after its passage by this Honourable House.On this note and with a deep sense of responsibility, I lay before this Honourable House of Assembly, the proposed 2025 Budget Estimates of our dear State, which has been christened “Budget of Sustainable Impact”. I wish you fruitful deliberation as you consider the 2025 Estimates.
Thank you and God bless you all. Alale Ekiti A gbe wa Biodun Oyebanji
