Many governors have come and gone with empty promises to make Edo State – at least Benin City – a great place to be, yet the area has been left in worse condition than before under some leaderships.
We had another newly elected governor in November 2016 – APC’s Godwin Obaseki – who presented his faithful ‘Budget of Consolidation and Prosperity’ to all Edo people.
Here are the key budget and promises made by the Governor on the 20th December 2016:
The Budget:
150 Billion, 11 Million, 831 thousand and 79 Naira based on 1.9 million production of barrel daily at $42 per unit, N25 billion deficits and Internally generated revenue:
Expenditures/Spending:
Spending will be on 6 key policy areas and do not necessarily add up:
The promises:
- Continue with all on-going infrastructural projects from Oshomole’s 2016 year
- Create a minimum of 200,000 jobs within 4 years
- Revamp technical and vocational training schools in Benin
- Invest in teachers – through training
- Establish a one-stop shop business and investment bureau to identify growth opportunities in agribusiness, electricity generation, small-medium business development, ourism, culture leisure and
- To develop a 10-12 year Edo State Master Plan fit for purpose land use + management systems including roads, transportation and ICT nd new towns
- To become the cleanest state in Nigeria’ to attain global standards
How well will this ‘easy to write’ proposal translate in realistic projects? Only time will. Watch the Governor’s budgeting video below:
