NEWS: Fayose presents N93.4bn ‘Budget of Higher Height’

By Rotimi Ojomoyela GOVERNOR Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, yesterday presented a N93.4 billion budget for 2017 tagged, “Budget of Higher Height” to the state House of Assembly in Ado Ekiti, the state capital.
According to the 2017 budget, the Recurrent Expenditure is N55.02bn which is 59 percent of the budget, while Capital Expenditure is N38.42 billion or 41 percent of the estimates. The total package of the budget is 33 percent higher than the N70.5 billion presented for 2016.

Fayose said that the increment was due to the economic recession and high exchange rate of dollar. However, there was a mild drama during presentation when the governor said he was the one in charge at the Assembly that Kola Oluwawole, the Speaker, was only holding brief for him.

fayose-budget “I am the speaker, he (Oluwawole) is on that seat on my behalf. He is the acting speaker; therefore, he cannot be wrong. If he is wrong, we will take it to the Government House and resolve it. Therefore, I will pass the budget myself,” Fayose said.

While appraising the 2016 Budget, Fayose said the state only recorded 89 percent performance due to unfavourable economic climate in the country, which according to him, negatively affected the state government.
He said out of proportional estimated revenue of N58.7 billion for 2016, only N52.4 billion was realised as actual revenue. The governor also announced that he would go to the mountain on December 14 and return on December 21 with predictions for Nigeria. He said that almost all his predictions for 2016 had come to pass, alleging that there were plans by the Federal Government to place Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State under house arrest on Thursday, December 8, two days before the legislative rerun elections in the state.

 “There is a grand plan to put Governor Wike under house arrest and if he resists, his life could come to an end,” he said. The governor, who was clad in a military camouflage, lamented that security challenges in the country had made things worse, adding that robbery and kidnapping had become the order of the day.
“It is quite horrifying; Nigeria is moving towards a one-party state,” he said.