Osun: N18.6bn budgeted for 19 agencies under Governor’s Office in 2015

Mr. Gboyega Oyetola, the Chief of Staff to Gov. Rauf Aregbesola of Osun, on Friday disclosed that the 19 agencies and bureaus under the Office of the Governor are to jointly spend a sum of N18,645,514,610 in the new year, 2015. Oyetola disclosed this in Osogbo, while defending the budget of the Office of the Governor before the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation. The agencies that comprise the Office of the Governor are: the Bureau of Social Services, Bureau of Communications and Strategy, Parastatals Monitoring Office, Bureau of Cabinet and Special Services, Millennium Development Goals Office, Office of Economic Development and Partnership, Bee Keeping Project Office, State Action Committee on Aids Office, State of Osun Emergency Management Office, UNDP Project Office, Public Service Office, Office of the Deputy Governor, Office of the SSG, Office of the HOS, Office of the Chief of Staff, Office of natural and Mineral Resources, Special Project Office, State of Osun Liaison Office, Abuja, State of Osun Liaison Office, Lagos, Bureau of protocol and Government House According to him, ‘’N6,925,000,000 is for recurrent expenditure and its capital expenditure is proposed at the sum of N11,720,514,610. ‘’The budget size for the year represents a 36.13 per cent reduction in the size of the budget for year 2014,’’ Oyetola explained. He said the Office of the Governor proposed to raise N3,025,000,000 as revenue through tender fees, registration of contractors, capital receipts and from other sources. According to Oyetola, N1,159,000,000 is expected to be expended on salaries, allowances and other remuneration of career officers and political office holders in the Office of the Governor. The sum of N3,775,000,000 is expected to be spent on general administration of bureaus and agencies in the Office of the Governor, as part of overhead costs. The payment of salaries to the Governor, the Deputy Governor, Judges, the State Independent Electoral Commission and others would gulp N2billion. Reports showed that N11,720,514,610 was proposed to cater for the execution and implementation of projects and programmes of agencies and bureaus in the Office of the Governor. The chairman, House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, Mr. Kamil Oyedele, promised that the house would give the budget a critical and accelerated consideration and passage. Oyedele also appreciated the House for their patience during the presentation and defence of the budget by the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Reports also had it that the House of Assembly ended the week-long presentation and hearing of budgets by the MDAs in the state on Friday.