By John Mayaki

Can you really satisfy the people of Edo State? Of course, yes. Aren’t they demanding more than state resources can carry? The answer is in the affirmative. Could it be because, to whom much is given, much is expected? Again, yes. They want more from Governor Adams Oshiomhole despite his overwhelming scorecard in the past four years in office, however, Oshiomhole has vowed to post a more mouth-watering dividends this year. His 2013 budget christened ‘taking Edo to the next level’ is one among three others before Oshiomhole will call it a quit.

The question any reasonable person would ask when that time comes is; will the people say it is uhuru after Oshiomhole’s eight years in office? If not, one would need to sympathize with whomever will take over the reins of government after Oshiomhole. Apart from working throughout the clock, such a successor will tolerate the incessant protest and placard wielding electorates who at every provocation, storm the State House.

Successive Governments in the past may have had budgets. They are normally tagged with more flamboyant adjectives but unfortunately, do not yield the desired result. I am not oblivious of the fact that some others may have crafted some hopeless budgets but now, its more of a sensible one in Edo state.

Governor Adams Oshiomhole

It used to be an opaque budget but it’s now more of a self-reliant and fiscally prudent. Edo state is one of the few states in Nigeria where a Fiscal Responsibility Bill was presented to the state House of Assembly and passed into law and we all know the import of that.

While the state benefits from the 13% derivation fund as a marginal oil producing state, this fiscal advantage does not translate to any significant edge in financial transfers and key indices when compared to other states in the Niger Delta region.

The proposed Budget size for 2013 is N150,045,377,060 billion. The sum of N87,407,475,855 billion, representing approximately 60%, is being proposed as Capital Expenditure; while the proposed Recurrent Expenditure is N62,637,901,205 billion, which represents approximately 40% of budget size. By the above figures, government is sustaining the tradition of putting more funds into capital expenditure, while reducing recurrent expenditure.

The sum of N116,479,778,045 is proposed as recurrent revenue. This is made up of the following components: Statutory Receipt – N86.51 billion, Internally Generated Revenue – N26.97 billion

The projected capital receipts amount to N64,341,876,840 billion, while there is a projected deficit of N23,065,599,015 billion to be funded through the World Bank Budget Support Facility and additional credit lines.

The Recurrent Component of the 2013 Budget, which is N62,637,901,205 is made up of the following: Personnel Costs – N25.46 billion, Overhead Costs – N16.40 billion and Consolidated Revenue Fund Charges – N20.76 billion Government is concentrating the bulk of it’s Capital Expenditure on key priority areas.

Roads Project is allocated the sum of N33,351,000,000 for all roads infrastructure across the State. This will be used to complete ongoing inter and inter-city road projects, in addition to funding new road projects. The designs of these road projects, according to government sources are ready.

The sum of N13,293,000,000 is proposed for Flood and Erosion Control and Environmental Protection. Of this amount, N8.00 billion is allocated for the execution of projects under the Benin City Storm Water Masterplan. Also, a substantial sum has been earmarked for the continue desiltation and dredging of the Benin Moat.

Similarly, the sum of N2.55 billion is set aside for erosion and flood control infrastructure in Edo Central and Edo North senatorial districts, while the sum of N1.20 billion is proposed for Beautification and Urban renewal projects across the State.

The total budget provision for education is N26.7 billion comprising of N14.6 billion capital and N12.1 billion recurrent expenditure excluding salaries to primary schools teachers. The State owned universities, Ambrose Alli University has a provision of N4.82 billion of which N1.02 billion is for capital projects.

While N4 billion has been provided for construction and renovation tertiary institutions in Edo State. The Technical schools reconstruction/renovation has a provision of N500million. The sum of N6.78 billion has been allocated to the Health Sub-Sector, comprising of N2.8 billion capital projects and N3.98 billion for recurrent expenditure.