Mr. Speaker
Principal Officers of the Edo State House of Assembly
Honourable Members of the Edo State House of Assembly
Members of the Edo State Executive Council
Representatives of the Oba of Benin
Other Royal Fathers
Elder Statesmen and Leaders of Thought
Party Elders and Leaders
Gentlemen of the Press
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen
Introduction
It is with great pleasure and pride that I welcome you to this presentation of the Budget proposal for the 2015 fiscal year. First and foremost, permit me to thank Almighty God who has made it possible for me to stand before you and this distinguished House to present the Edo State Budget Proposal for the 2015 fiscal year.
Allow me to also express firmly my deep appreciation to the Rt. Honourable Speaker and all other principal officers and honourable members of this distinguished House for honoring us with your esteemed presence at this very important event that helps us to articulate and chart the course for the future of our dear State.
The strong support and partnership you have always extended to this administration since its inception have been invaluable towards the realization of our vision and mission to make Edo State amongst the best in the Nigerian Federation.
Our Developmental Record
Mr. Speaker,
Distinguished Honourable Members
It is no longer in doubt that in the last six years, this government under our leadership has made landmark strides in its efforts to turn around the fortunes of our dear State by creating opportunities for economic prosperity and enhancing public welfare.
This is evident in our purposeful interventions in the provision of economic and social infrastructure, human capital development, and the rebuilding the productive base of our economy.
It is also clearly seen in the widely acknowledge positive impact these interventions have had on the living standards of Edo people.
We have effectively arrested the palpable decay and dilapidation we have inherited in the environmental, social educational and transportation sectors.
This has enabled us to lay a solid foundation for sustainable development of the State, as well as raised the bar in terms of standards, both for project execution and service delivery across all sectors of our economy and society.
Specifically, we have re-invented the whole spectrum of the public school system in Edo State through the implementation of a robust agenda for the provision of qualitative, affordable and accessible education, which also puts the EDO CHILD at the centre of our educational policy.
We have also provided adequate staffing and motivation of teaching and non-teaching staff, as well as enhanced funding our public school system, including the tertiary institutions.
It is noteworthy that our efforts of purposeful restoration and expansion of physical educational infrastructure have been well appreciated across State and considered by many as unprecedented and ambitious in the educational history of Edo State.
We have also achieved positive results from our health intervention initiatives. This is evident in the significant drop in maternal and child mortality that is well below the national average, as attested to by the UNICEF and WHO.
In tandem with our recognition of the positive role of infrastructure in the development process, we have massively carried out the rehabilitation of existing roads, as well as construction of new inter- and intra-city roads. Communities that hitherto were inaccessible have been opened up.
We also have put in place concrete measures to address, once and for, the challenges of flooding and erosion in Benin City and other major towns of the state.
It is significant that through the continuous implementation of Benin City Storm Water Master Plan, we have been able to drastically reduce the problem of perennial flooding and resulting destruction of life and property we typically witness yearly in Benin City and its environs in the recent past.
We have also made substantial investment towards the provision of potable water for several communities, and in power targeted at both the rural and urban communities that previously had no electricity.
To make Edo State work again, we have embarked on bold initiatives to rebuild the productive base of the Edo State economy.
Through the deployment of the right mix of policy interventions we enabled the rejuvenation of the agricultural and industrial sectors of the State, as well as the attraction of foreign and local investments.
All these efforts have enabled the creation and expansion of economic opportunities and jobs for our people and reposition Edo State as the epicenter of national development.
We recognize that as responsive and responsible governance is critical to the success of any developmental agenda. In line with this understanding, we have re-invented governance in Edo State through bringing the people closer to public policy and decision-making.
The introduction of our regular interface with critical stakeholders and establishment of open channels for regular feedback have engendered trust between the government and the people and empower the people to determine the direction and implementation of our development agenda.
For the first time in our recent history, we have been able to mainstream the principles of equity, fairness and justice in all our developmental initiatives.
We are today presenting the 2015 budget against the background of our desire to consolidate our developmental efforts across the entire 18 Local Governments of Edo State and deepen the on-going governance reforms that would enabled the sustainability of our development agenda.
Review of 2014 Budget Performance
Mr. Speaker, it is expedient that I review the performance of the 2014 fiscal year budget. You would recall that the size of the 2014 budget was N160.1 billion.
It was configured to re-align government’s priorities in a way that would grow the economy of the State, sustain the tempo of infrastructure development and boost the productive base of the economy, to create jobs for our teeming youth and substantially reduce the incidence of poverty amongst our citizens.
Revenue
The total expected revenue for 2014 is N 117.48 billion, however, as at June 2014 the actual revenue realized was N 43.256 billion. In 2014, revenue performance was affected by the drop in the allocation from the Federation Account, which adversely affected the revenue profile of the State.
Expenditure
The total Recurrent Expenditure component of the 2014 budget was N75.6 billion. As at the end of June 2014, the total Recurrent Expenditure incurred stood at N 29.8 billion.
By the end of the year we project the expenditure to be in the region of N59.6 billion.
2015 Budget Assumptions
Mr. Speaker,
In formulating the 2015 budget we have made some assumptions, taking into account developments in 2014 and our projections of what we expect to happen in 2015.
Revenue
On the revenue side, we are all aware that our state derives the bulk of its revenues from the statutory allocations from the Federation Account for the funding of capital and recurrent expenditures.
We expect that our revenues in 2015 would remain the same at 2014 levels.
However, we will continue to sustain and re-double our efforts to substantially reduce our dependence on the Federation Account allocation by intensifying our internal revenue generation (IGR) drive in the coming years.
This would entail enhanced investment in the revenue collection infrastructure to strengthen the assessment and collection process of the Edo State Internal Revenue Service (EIRS) and other revenue generating Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government.
Accordingly, we envisage a significant boost to our IGR in 2015, while we will continue to leverage other domestic and external sources to fund projects that meet the State’s social and economic benefit cost-benefit criteria, and with positive cash flows to pay back.
Expenditure
In terms of expenditure, we expect that our personnel cost will increase substantially (at about 16%) relative to the 2014 projected actual, in order to accommodate planned promotions, new recruitment into the state public service, as well as salary increments.
We would expect the overhead costs in the 2015 fiscal year to remain at the same level as in 2014. We have also made provisions in the Consolidated Revenue Fund Charges (CRFC) for 10% employer contribution on the contributory pension scheme expected to kick-off in 2015, in line with the new national chart of accounts.
Other underlying assumptions are as follows:
Total estimated revenue N117.81 billion
Total estimated expenditure,
including debt service N 68.99 billion
Capital Projects N 87.56 billion
Budget Support (World Bank) N13.67 billion
Gap Filling (Domestic) N17.05 billion
Grants N 8.74 billion
2015 Budget Proposal: General Overview
Mr. Speaker,
This year’s budget is informed by the compelling need to accomplish more for our people and accelerate the pace of work in the on-going projects and programmes in all sectors of our economy.
Against this background, the 2015 budget gives impetus to our vision to improve the capacity of state institutions and personnel to deliver effectively and efficiently with greater consideration to value for money.
All these will be targeted at improving the living standards of our people and addressing the infrastructure dilapidation, backlogs and deficits, which we inherited six years ago.
The budget equally supports the private sector and our emerging entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, create wealth and generate employment.
2015: Budget of Developmental Consolidation
Mr. Speaker,
I hereby present the 2015 budget christened: Budget of Developmental Consolidation. It was prepared within the context of our Strategic Plan (2010-2020) which outlines the strategic priorities and key initiatives to be achieved by all MDAs.
It was also based on realistic assumptions regarding our fiscal/financial environment and the envisaged critical success factors for implementation.
Budget Objectives
Mr. Speaker,
The 2015 budget is designed to achieve the consolidation of this administration’s development agenda. Therefore, it will continue to focus on the core priority sectors of the government, namely: infrastructure, education and health, in terms of resource allocation and injection of new investments.
Specifically, it is geared towards:
The completion of all on-going projects;
Injection of new investments in key priority sectors of this administration which are: roads construction and rehabilitation, education, health, water and rural electrification and environmental protection, including drainage, flood/erosion control and beautification;
Projects for job creation, particularly through economic empowerment with emphasis on micro credit to small and medium scale enterprises, farmers, women and youth,
Projects for mass housing and Expanding the revenue base.
Creation of the enabling environment for domestic and direct foreign investment.
Deepening of governance reforms.
Mr. Speaker,
From the foregoing, it becomes obvious that the thrust of the 2015 budget proposal is decidedly people-centered, and anchored on the key priorities of this administration, namely: infrastructure restoration, human capital development and production.
It is equally underpinned and guided by the cardinal principles of participation, social inclusion, equitable distribution of projects and performance.
Highlights of 2015 Budget
Mr. Speaker,
In order to keep the economy growing and keep the pace of development we have proposed an estimated budget size of N 156.551 billion for the 2015 fiscal year.
The budget consists of N 87.56 billion as Capital Expenditure representing 55.77% of the total budget, while the proposed Recurrent Expenditure is N 68.99 billion which represents 44.23% of the total budget.
I hereby present to this Honourable House a Budget based on the following sectoral classification, and in line with global best practice:
Sector Recurrent Expenditure Capital Expenditure
Administration N 17.873 billion N 4.031 billion
Economic N 5.342 billion N 36.029 billion
Law and Justice N 2.955 billion N 0.837 billion
Social N 20.173 billion N 46.665 billion
Administration
This administration places priority on the welfare of its workforce and we shall continue with the policy of supporting our workers in whichever way we can to enable them contribute their best to the development of our dear State.
I am delighted to report that we have remained faithful to our wage obligations, including our pensions and gratuity commitments, despite the dwindling allocations and inflows from federal sources.
As part of our continuous effort to entrench efficient and effective service delivery system, we will in 2015 continue to encourage and promote the training and retraining of our civil servants, including the teaching staff in our public schools, to enable us build a highly skilled and vibrant work force that will always be alive to its responsibilities.
To promote good governance practices within the Edo State public sector we have taken further steps to entrench e-governance, as part our strategic planning and decision making process, with the commencement of the SAVE project (Staff Audit Verification and Biometric Enrolment of Employees), and the provision of automated Payroll system for all Edo State employees and pensioners.
Other initiatives include: the digitalization of the land registration, which is a part of the holistic Geographic Information System (GIS), the adoption of the e-payment solution, as a strategy to block leakages in the collection of fees, levies and tariffs and the extension of automation coverage of our tax administration and vehicle registration system.
On the whole, in line with the social contract we have with Edo people, we have sustained our policy of financial prudence and budget discipline which has kept the cost of governance within reasonable limits, and ensured that more resources are channeled to capital expenditures and welfare enhancing projects.
As a people’s government we would do everything in our power to justify the people’s confidence at all times.
Let me seize this opportunity to, at this point, say that while we appreciate the entire workforce of Edo State for their understanding and support, it is necessary to point out that we all have a joint and shared responsibility towards building a State of our dream.
Consequently, we should at all times be prepared to make the necessary sacrifices when called upon, so that we will share the joy and burden of socio-economic transformation.
Economic
Roads Infrastructure
A key priority of this administration is the construction and provision of good quality, well drained and all year motorable standard road infrastructures.
Our target is to connect as many communities, villages and towns, as possible to accelerate the social and economic activities in the State.
It is also our objective to achieve balanced development and open up communities that have hitherto been totally neglected in the past.
In 2015, we will continue with the construction of new roads and rehabilitation of existing ones. Subject to availability of funds, we have slated to commence work on 26 new and already designed inter- and intra-city roads throughout the three senatorial zones of the State.
Despite these efforts, we are obviously not oblivious of the fact that there are still several communities that need to be linked to adjoining economies through motorable roads.
I wish to assure you that we would not relent in our determination to fix all outstanding roads and integrate other communities to the larger economy. Consequently, for the 2015 fiscal year a sum of N 16.95 billion has been proposed for roads infrastructure across the State.
Finance
A well coordinated public financial management systems is no doubt, key to proper planning and sustainable growth and development of any economy.
In 2014, the State Government working very closely with its development partners commenced the review of its Public Financial Management (PFM) processes with a view to build the capacity of our key MDAs particularly the Budget Office, Accountant General’s Office and Office of the Auditor-General to strengthen our fiscal management framework, including budget process and revenue forecasting reforms.
At the end of this exercise, it is expected that our capacity to expect to plan, execute and monitor our development projects and programmes will be significantly enhanced.
Public Private Partnerships (PPP)
In 2014 we have increased the momentum of engagement with well established and reputable private sector players, both nationally and globally. The objective is to tap into the opportunities availed by the private sector in productive activities, while also maintaining the swing of investor interest in the State.
One of the vehicles towards engaging key investors is the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Office, which has built capacity over time to engage potential investors in vital sectors where the state has comparative advantage over its peers.
To sustain PPP culture in the State, we have drafted a PPP policy document that will guide the process of engagement with the private sector and give clarity on the institutional guidelines that will deepen the process.
The ultimate aim is to have a PPP law that will sustain this very rich window of sustaining investor appetite in the State far beyond the tenure of this present government.
Public Procurement Reforms
In furtherance of our determination to guarantee a predictable environment of good governance and promote transparency and accountability, we have embarked upon the reform our procurement process and had set in motion the take-off of the Public Procurement Regulatory Agency to guide MDAs in the award of contracts and procurement of goods and services.
It is noteworthy that the Agency has already put in place the framework for its operations, including building capacity of MDAs across the State.
This singular institutional reform is, no doubt, a key element of our cardinal objective in institutionalizing transparency and a scientific culture in the procurement process, and we are proud and excited that this is beginning with our administration.
Internal Revenue Generation (IGR)
In 2008 we started the reform of our tax collection, an effort that has paid off with the significant growth in the IGR of the State.
In the last quarter of 2014, we will be working towards enhancing our tax base through a state-wide tax enumeration survey that will be piloted in six major LGAs and other potential cities in the state.
This survey is aimed at capturing additional eligible tax payers into the tax net, and building a pool of data on areas the government requires additional investment such as infrastructure and other social amenities.
This Government believes that there is a strong linkage between taxation and good governance. Without the tax revenues this government would not have accomplished the numerous and beneficial projects we have been able to bring closer to our people.
We will continue to appeal to the good people of Edo State to support this government to sustain the tax culture.
It is only through this window that we can guarantee continuous accountability and transparency in the governance of the state at all levels.
Agriculture
Agriculture employs majority of our people engaged in both food and export crop production. Therefore, consistent with this administration’s commitment to generate sustainable employment and boost domestic commercial agriculture, we have pursued innovative initiatives to refocus and reposition the sector.
Our goal is to increase agricultural output through attracting and sustaining large scale private sector participation in the sector, supporting and encouraging our small farmers with incentives and expanding the value chain to make agriculture attractive to the young people.
In 2014, we have attracted private investors into rice production and other viable agricultural sub-sectors in the State.
In 2015, particular attention will be given to finalizing efforts to cultivate over 300,000 hectares of new farmland across key food and cash crops spectrum of the agricultural sector with an emphasis on the development of domestic small- and medium and large commercial farms.
We have projected the creation of over 150,000 new jobs over the next two (2) years of this Government, through this initiative.
We are working assiduously to ensure that we create an investment landscape that encourages easy processing of land permits and Certificates of Occupancy (CofO) and other ancillary issues connected therewith, including other incentives that will serve as catalyst to the massive flow of investment in the agricultural sector.
We will continue to strengthen the agricultural sector and make agribusiness a viable proposition across all branches of agriculture. We are accordingly proposing a capital budget of N 1.055 billion for the 2015 fiscal year.
Youth Employment
We have continued to invest in human capital development by creating opportunities for youth employment and access to socio-economic services across the state.
One of the creative ways we have adopted is to encourage young, unemployed youths to be involved in public works and waste management.
We hope to use this window to build experts in road maintenance through a small budget approach, encourage budding business in waste management and start ups in entrepreneurship and SMEs across the state.
In first three quarters of 2014 alone, we have engaged 1,284 young people across the State, and this has come with it significant economic and social benefits, the evidence of which could be seen in the reduction in crime, youth violence and other social vices.
In 2015, we hope to bring in 2,500 more young people into the employment net through this scheme. In addition, the scheme will ensure that the beneficiaries are paid their salaries directly into their bank accounts so that they will develop a culture of savings.
This intervention complements the already well established recruitment process we instituted through Rapid Response Agency (RRA), the ICT Agency and the Youth Employment Scheme (YES), now with over 15,000 young people gainfully employed across different segment of our society.
Law and Justice
This administration will continue to provide support to the law enforcement agencies in order to strengthen security of lives and property.
This is in line with our determination to reduce to the barest minimum incidences of criminal and related activities throughout the State.
To reinforce our complementary role, we have taken steps to restructure and reposition the Neighbourhood Watch in order to make it more effective in detecting and combating crimes across the state.
Let me put on record, our sincere appreciation to the Security and law enforcement agencies operating in Edo State for their steadfastness and sacrifices in ensuring that our State is no longer safe for any one with criminal intent.
To strengthen the delivery of justice we will continue to respond to the needs of the judicial arm of government so that it would be alive to its constitutional responsibilities at all times. Accordingly, in 2015, a sum of N 2.955 billion is being proposed for recurrent and capital budget for the Edo State Judiciary.
Social
The provision of social services to our people is critical to this government. Education and health are cardinal to our priorities, both as a party (the APC) and as a government, and due attention would be adequately paid to them.
Education
In 2014, we intensified our efforts to provide quality education to our children. In addition to the building of new schools and rehabilitation of existing ones, we have also placed attention on human capital development to complement the provision of learning materials which have been made adequately available to schools across the State.
Today, I am proud to say mention that the free education for primary and secondary schools declared at the inception of our administration has been firmly rooted.
To ensure the protection and sustainability of the massive investments we have made in the educational sector, we have proposed a budget provision of N 18.1 billion for the Education sub-sector in the 2015 financial year.
We have also broadened the School Based Management Committees (SBMC), which lends support to educational management at the school level, and build a critical base for community stakeholder participation in the ownership of the educational sector in the State.
Also, as part of our investment-inflow readiness, we commenced a programmatic series of exchange programs for our technical college students to peer review with some of the best students in Nigeria by sending them to boot camps.
This year, the programme of choice was electrical and electronics engineering and the State is desirous of expanding its scope in 2015 to include other programmes such as welding, mechanical and fabrication technology.
The idea is to build a critical mass of young talented youths who can support the local economy to be self sufficient in technological know-how and the economic value chain associated thereto.
In the last one year, we have invested in the accreditation of programmes in the existing technical colleges and this has encouraged real enrolment growth in the vocational and technical colleges in the state.
This investment has paid off with the recent pass mark given to the Edo State College of Agriculture Iguoriakhi by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), which had even gone further to recommend the teaching of more programmes, leveraging on the structures that are available in the institution.
This is a major milestone in our efforts to encourage mechanized agriculture and build a human resource base that will support this initiative.
It is also noteworthy, that our Skills Acquisition Centre at Aduwawa was similarly recognized by NBTE based on the direct grants given to the school to improve facilities.
Science and Rural Development
To encourage the teaching of science in the rural areas, the state government recently initiated the recruitment of female science teachers across the state to be located in the rural areas to encourage young female students to take into the sciences and broaden science and technology across the state.
This is a very important aspect of our long-term planning under our Strategic Plan, aimed at getting the young people in the State to leverage on the technological know-how that is associated with rapid economic growth.
We also aim to use this window to reduce early marriage and violence against women in the society, and encourage urban to rural migration in the medium- to the long-term basis.
Health
Aware of the critical health concerns and targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGS), this government has prioritized the delivery of quality health care to the people.
Based on these we have sustained efforts in upgrading of some of our health care institutions.
In 2014, the completion of on-going projects was vigorously pursued with good progress recorded. In 2015, we will continue to build on this progress and pursue the execution of key projects that will enable the strengthening of our health care delivery.
Among the capital projects we have earmarked for execution in 2015 are the following:
Completion of the construction and equipping of the new Accident and Emergency/200-Bed Ward Complex at the Central Hospital, Sapele Road, Benin City.
Completion and furnishing of the 2nd and 3rd floors of the Block D of the New Secretariat Complex to provide permanent accommodation for the Ministry of Health.
On-going renovation of some hospitals buildings at the General Hospital, Agenebode.
The sum of N 9.298 billion has been allocated to the Health Sub-Sector in the 2015 Capital Budget proposal.
Our commitment to expanding the scope of medicare in Edo State, however, goes beyond government intervention.
Accordingly, we will continue to intensify efforts towards exploring more avenues to improve facilities and access in specialized areas of medical care.
In this connection, we will be collaborating with reputable national and international organizations, aimed at tapping into mutually beneficial areas of comparative advantage under the PPP framework for Health Care delivery.
Flood and Erosion Control/Environmental Protection
This Government remain committed to the maintenance and sustenance of a clean and safe environment, and to ensure a well-drained and green environment through a holistic flood control and reforestation State-wide.
In 2014 we continued to focus on sustaining the implementation of all contractual commitment of the State Government.
I am pleased to inform you that as at today our flagship Storm Water Project, Uwelu East and West Water Catchment De-flooding Project, which covers Adolor College, Uwelu, Teachers House and Uzebu areas of Benin City, and awarded at the sum of N30 billion is about 52% completed.
This is in addition to the Airport Road Storm Water Control and the Constain Isonoroh Storm Water De-flooding earlier completed by this Government.
In the same vein, the Upper Lawani and the upgrade of the Uselu 5 Junction moat, (now known as Queen Esther Erediawa Junction) Flood and Erosion Control Projects are 68% and 94% completed respectively.
The State Government is intervening with the remediation of the devastation caused by flood and gully erosion at Ekehuan road, Queen Ede Secondary School and Auchi township.
During the year, the State government awarded the first contract for the remediation works at the Ekehuan flood and gully erosion site under the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project, NEWMAP, a World Bank financed project. Work is expected to commence during the next dry session.
In addition, the Tenders for Queen Ede and Auchi gully site are currently being evaluated with the hope that the contracting process will be completed for implementation to commence during the forthcoming dry season.
We shall continue to proactively ensure the creation of a healthy, safe, clean and beautiful environment that assures sustainable development with the appropriate resilience to mitigate and adapt to the realities of climate change at all times.
Government will continue to prosecute its ongoing effort at combating flood and erosion as well as to ensure a clean, safe and green environment in the three senatorial zones of the State.
In this connection, the sum of N 18.5 billion has been proposed in 2015 Budget for the Environmental Sector.
Rural Electrification
In line with our policy to make rural areas attractive, support the burgeoning small- and medium- scale enterprises, and minimize the incidence of rural-urban drift, the State Government extended electricity supply to ten (10) rural communities that were hitherto without electricity, while electricity supply to existing PHCN Network system in forty-seven (47) communities was reinforced across the 18 Local Government Areas.
Similarly, a total number of 25 transformers and 25 feeder pillars were purchased in 2014 and put into use across the State.
Similarly this administration is working to promote the partnership arrangement with Azura Power West African for the establishment of a Gas Power Plant at Ihovbor, near Benin City, that on completion will generate and inject 950 Mega Watts into the National Grid System.
In 2015, Government will embark on new projects while prime attention will be given to the completion of on-going projects. Accordingly, the sum of N 0.500 billion has been proposed in the 2015 Capital Budget for the Energy Sub-Sector.
Water Resources and Water Supply
The 2015 Budget will focus on the completion of on-going water schemes in the Local Government Areas.
Also, during 2015, more boreholes will be sunk to provide water to our people with the use of the newly acquired Dando Drilling Rigs which have successfully struck water in difficult terrain such as Edo Central Senatorial District.
Consequently, the sum of N 0.981billion has been proposed in the 2015 Capital Budget.
Housing and Urban Planning
We are committed to providing affordable housing for our people. To this end, government intends to partner with real estate developers and financiers (within the PPP framework) to facilitate the delivery of mass housing across the 3 senatorial districts.
Already, an initiative is afoot towards delivering not less than 100,000 housing units of various specifications over the next three years.
Outlook for 2015 and Critical Success Factors
Mr. Speaker,
With the giant strides we recorded since we came on board, I make bold to say that 2015 holds a bright future for our people.
We will continue to stand on our well articulated development strategy and our key priorities, which will enable us to focus and deploy resources in a more prudent, efficient and effective manner.
We will also continue to count on our determination to deliver and on the popular support for our development agenda to drive the consolidation of our development efforts.
We will continue to move on with our eyes open to seize new opportunities offered by the national and global market places.
Recent happenings regarding inflows from the federation account makes it imperative for us to follow through on investments and initiatives that will drive increase yield in IGR.
The governance reforms already on-going will be sustained, including fulfilling all our commitments to our development partners related to the implementation of some reform measures linked to the World Bank’s Development Policy Operations (DPO) facility draw down.
It is also important that we continue to improve our budget performance in 2015 and beyond.
Therefore, as we all look forward to 2015 with positive expectations, it is equally important that we do not close our eyes to the fact that 2015 is a transitional year, politically speaking.
Definitely, it will come with its economic and social pressures that are typically associated with electoral contests.
However, having practiced democracy close to a decade and a half, it should be expected that by now we have developed some modicum of enlightened self-interest to play by the rules and usher in a peaceful transition.
Conclusion
Mr. Speaker,
Honourable Members,
After decades of debilitating political and economic oppression, it is important to note that Edo people have decidedly voted for CHANGE and they do not want to go look back or give in to lamentation.
This is amply demonstrated by the massive support they have given this administration since its inception.
More than at any time in their history, our people are better sensitized and more conscious of their rights and who they will entrust with their mandate.
On our own part, as authentic servants of our people, I am glad to also note that we have kept faith with the yearnings and aspirations of our people for a better society for this and up-coming generation.
We have worked tirelessly; we have ushered in a new era and new ways of approaching and solving problems.
Our people are by and large happy with our performance. Still, if I may borrow the words of late Kenyan political leader, Oginga Odinga, “it’s not yet uhuru”.
More work is ahead because for whom much is given, much is expected. We are also racing against time.
I am sure that that this realization will inform the disposition of this Honourable House to this budget proposal for the 2015 fiscal year.
Let me at this stage once again place on record my deep appreciation to Mr. Speaker and the Honourable Members for their cooperation and support extended to the executive arm which in no small measure accounted to the positive achievements of this administration.
I also wish to express my gratitude to our royal fathers led by his Royal Majesty, the Oba of Benin, our religious leaders, political leaders, our resilient private sector operators, labour leaders, professional organizations, women organizations, youth groups, and civil society organizations, in the state for their support and demonstration of confidence in our administration over the years.
For the good people of our beloved State, I say a big thank you for keeping faith with our strong determination to sustain the task of taking Edo State to the NEXT LEVEL.
Mr. Speaker,
Distinguished Honourable Members,
It is now my pleasure and privilege to present to you the Budget of Developmental Consolidation, the Edo State 2015 Appropriation Bill of N 156.551 billion and details of the Budget Proposal for your kind consideration and approval.
Thank you and God Bless.
COMRADE ADAMS ALIYU OSHIOMHOLE
GOVERNMEMET HOUSE
BENIN CITY
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2014
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