Olufemi Adediran 
Ogun State governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun yesterday signed into law the state’s 2021 Appropriation Bill of N338. 6billon. The bill tagged “Budget of Recovery and Sustainability” comprised recurrent expenditure of N162 billion, 48 per cent of the total budget and a capital expenditure of N177 billion, 52 per cent.
Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Kunle Somorin disclosed this in a statement in Abeokuta. The state House of Assembly had on Tuesday slightly adjusted the recurrent and capital expend tures estimates. The adjustments, however, affected about 74 agencies, including the capital receipt, following recommendations of the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation led by Hon. Kunle Sobunkanla.
The 2021 appropriation bill was read and adopted clause-by-clause before members by Speaker Olakunle Oluomo during plenary, thereby passing N146.529billion as earmarked for recurrent expenditure, N20.182billion for Consolidated Revenue Fund Charges (CRFC) while N171.898billion was allocated for capital expenditure in the year 2021. Highlights of the budget as presented to the House were infrastructure, N61billion; social welfare and well-being N93billion– health, housing, environment, physical planning, women affairs; education, N58 billion; youth empowerment, N6 billion; agriculture, N15 billion and Enablers N106 billion, among others.
Signing the budget, Abiodun assured the people that the state would strive to recover from the challenges engendered by COVID-19 pandemic and forge ahead in the critical sectors of the economy as enunciated in the Act. The governor commended the Assembly for the speedy passage of the bill, saying that signing the budget before December would avail the state government an opportunity to further plan towards its implementation from January 2021.
Abiodun said: “You have just witnessed my signing into law, the 2021 Appropriation Bill. Like I said while presenting the bill, we are in very difficult times this year. The second wave of the pandemic is here and some of our people still feel it is not something to be taken too seriously.”
