………..passes UNIMED, Anti-land grabbing bills

By Precious Oluwole

The Ondo State House of Assembly, on Tuesday, passed N698,659,496,000 budget for year 2025 into law.

With the passage, the Ondo State Government is to spend a total sum of N698,659,496,000 Billion in the 2025 fiscal year. N265,037,496,000 billion is for recurrent expenditure, while N433,622,000,000 billion is for capital expenditure.

It would be recalled that on the 10th of December, 2024, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa presented a total Budget of N655,230,000,000 billion for the 2025 fiscal year to the State House of Assembly.

The approved budget was increased by N43,429,496,000 billion.

The House had earlier committed the budget proposal to the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation for scrutiny. Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) had also held their defence.

The budget, tagged “Budget of Recovery” is higher than that of the 2024 fiscal year which was N395,257,000,000 billion.

Presenting its report at a plenary presided over by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Olamide Oladiji, the Chairman, House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, Oluwole Ogunmolasuyi said the Committee observed among others that the fiscal documents takes cognizance of the economic reality.

He therefore called on MDAs to ensure that provisions of the budget are applied to the needs stated therein.

He added that the State Government should take necessary steps that will propel all income generating MDAs to embark on more result oriented internally generated revenue drive in line with extant laws.

He advised that all MDAs that have desired to exceed their revenue generating targets should be given the required support to succeed.

He therefore enjoined other Lawmakers to consider the fiscal document for passage, having undergone necessary scrutiny.

After the Speaker subjected the report to critical debate at the plenary and scaling through the third reading, it was unanimously adopted for passage through a majority voice vote.

In his Speech, Speaker Oladiji noted that the 2025 fiscal budget will further drive the growth of the economy and commencement of new projects and programmes that are crucial to the development of the State.

While commending Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa for his role in the passage of the bill, he assured that both the executive and the legislature will continue to work in harmony in the best interest of the State.

Meanwhile, a bill to amend the Ondo State University of Medical Sciences law, 2015 and for other matters incidental or connected therewith and also, a bill to to prohibit forceful entry and illegal occupation of landed property, violent and fraudulent conducts in relation to landed property in Ondo State has also been passed into law after scaling through the third reading.