Dotun Oyelade, the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, explained that this decision aligns with the government's longstanding commitment to workers' welfare, consistent with policies implemented over the past four years.
Oyelade reminded attendees that the Seyi Makinde-led administration successfully executed promotion exercises from 2017 to 2021. For the 2022 promotion round, the governor has given the green light for the promotion of 7,276 civil servants.
In addition, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Prof. Musibau Babatunde, disclosed that the state executive council has approved a realignment of the 2023 supplementary budget, which will be presented to the Oyo State House of Assembly for formal approval.
Babatunde pointed out that the decision to revise the budget was necessitated by the dual economic policies of subsidy removal and the unification of the exchange rate, which caused shifts in macroeconomic fundamentals within the state. These shifts are notably observed in inflation, exchange rates, and interest rates.
Furthermore, he noted that the Oyo State Government carefully considered ongoing projects that have been affected by cost overrides. Also, the government factored in requests from Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to address their budget performance in light of the adjustments in macroeconomic fundamentals.
As a result, the 2023 budget size has increased from N310,432,500,000.00 to N352,382,500,000.00. Babatunde emphasized that funds previously allocated but unutilized in some MDAs have been realigned to better reflect current economic realities.
The Oyo State Government is presently engaged in negotiations with the Nigeria Labour Congress, and any decisions reached in these discussions will be incorporated into the realigned supplementary budget.
Moreover, the Exco has approved the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (2024-2026), upon which the 2024 budget will be based. The approved figure for this framework is N424,410,611,938.00, representing a 19.49% increase over the 2023 pre-empted figure of N355,172,953,913.00.
“We expect the Medium Term Expenditure Framework to be a good guide for the fiscal balance of the year 2024 budget.”
