By Gbenga Sodeinde in Ado Ekiti
In pursuit of responsible, responsive and robust legislation, the Chairmen of various statutory Committee of the House of Assembly has called on the Accounting Officers in the State Ministries, Departments and Agencies to make their 2024 budget proposal a workable budget so that the purpose of the exercise could be achieved.
The Committee Chairmen at different forum described budget defence as an annual exercise and one of the major functions of the house, the exercise which began few weeks ago gave the committees opportunity to interface with the Political Office holders, Accounting Officers in various Ministries, Heads of Institutions, General Managers, Executive Secretaries, Chairmen Boards and Commissions and as well enabled the stakeholders to speak to their 2024 budget proposal.
Meanwhile, the Committees at their various level did a thorough job on the 2024 budget proposal of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies one after the other in which some major Ministries like Agriculture and its Allied Agencies, Environment and Natural Resources and its allied agencies, Local Government and Community Development, Information and value Orientation, Capacity Development and training, Home and Chieftaincy Affairs, Education Science and Technology, Broadcasting Service of Ekiti State, Civil Service Commission, were scrutinised.
2024 budget estimates of the Ekiti State House of Assembly and Assembly Service Commission were seriously considered by Committee on House services led by Hon. Johnson Bode Adeoye, however the committee reiterated that the legislative arm of government has the constitutional power to approve budget, appropriate funds and to enact laws for the people of the State and promised not to shy away from their responsibilities.
Some of the stakeholders who appeared before the House for Budget defence with their Accounting Officers were Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Ebenezer Boluwade, Commissioner for Environment, Mrs Tosin Ajisafe Aluko, Commissioner for Capacity, Development and Training, Professor Olugbenga Tedela, Commissioner for Budget and Economic planning, Adeniyi Adebayo commended the Assembly for taken their time to worked on the 2024 Budget proposal painstakingly and appreciated the Governor of Ekiti State Mr Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji for his transformation agenda for the State.
The Budget defence exercise is expected to be round up on Monday 11th Dec, 2023 with the appearance of the State Independent Electoral Commission before the State Independent Committee chaired by Hon Ayodeji Adegbite and Customary Court of Appeal to as well appear before the Committee on Judiciary and Legal matters headed by Hon Babatunde Oke.