Eben Enasco Kingsley
Following the submission of the 2017 appropriation bill to the State House of Assembly by Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, Civil Society groups continue to react positively and express satisfaction.
Speaking on the proposed budget for 2017, the Coalition for Good Governance and Economic Justice in Africa (CGGEJA), a statement by its Director of Strategy, Mr. Ralph Dimowo said, “It is a realistic budget estimate. It has a good title which appositely reflects the content.”
Speaking further, the group condemned the prevalence of mismanagement of funds in the country saying that: “The problem with budgets in Nigeria over the years is poor implementation, but there is no doubt that this budget will perform positively if passed into law.”
Commenting further, the statement explained that Governor Obaseki saw the need for a cohesive budget proposal and development thrust while avoiding a knee-jerk-solution to issues. This therefore indicates that the budget was formulated carefully with the position of stakeholders taken into consideration to ensure efficiency, maximum value for money, real impact, and visible transformation.
“This is certainly not a sandcastle, but a precise statement of what Obaseki hopes to generate as income and how to allocate the resources in the year 2017,” it read.
Speaking further, a social commentator, Eunice Dauda said, “The budget presented by Governor Obaseki is a pointer that this government means business. The normal tradition in Nigeria is formulating budgets with recurrent expenditure usually surpassing capital expenditure. Now, we have a 50-50 budget and I commend the governor for this bold step.
She also indicated hope that significant uptick will be recorded in the price of crude oil and that the economic plans of the current government will be actualized. “A trip round government industries and agencies clearly indicates that though this is a continuity government, a new sheriff is in town. The future seems bright for Edo State. We are hopeful and anxious to see a better Edo, he said.
