Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, yesterday said the 2019 budget of the state would be readjusted to accommodate the new minimum wage.
Amosun assured that his administration was ready to implement the minimum wage as agreed by state governors with the organized labour and the Federal Government.
He spoke at the 2019 Treasury Board Meeting held at Obas Complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, where Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Ms. Adenrele Adesina, hinted at N305 billion as the state’s budget for next year.
The governor, in his address, stated that the 2019 budget would be used to complete ongoing capital projects across the state, saying the meeting was significant not only to strengthen participatory process of governance, but important also for successful preparation and implementation of the 2019 Budget, being final budget of his administration.
He said: “As an administration, we believe that governance should be a participatory process. It is therefore critical to build a system that helps us to deliver consistent and robust decisions, driven by processes that ensure the involvement of all relevant stakeholders in matters that affect them.
“This is a sure way towards sustainable development. This conviction had been the driving-force of our annual budget preparation since the inception of our administration in 2011.”
Meanwhile, the state government has commenced disbursement of 65 per cent of the last tranche of the Paris Club Refund to pay backlogs of cooperative deductions, gratuity, severance and furniture allowance of its workforce.
The money was 15 per cent above the threshold set by the Federal Government on the disbursement of refund to workers.
In a statement by Commissioner for Finance, Adewale Oshinowo, the government said it received N17.3billion from the Federal Government, being its last tranche of the Paris Club Refund.
Oshinowo said: “In line with the commitment of the Ibikunle Amosun administration to the welfare of workers in the state, their payment is being made a priority.
“Therefore with immediate effect, the sum of N11.8billion from the refund will be expended on the workforce, including the Local Government while the balance of N5.5billion will go into social services for the benefit of the entire indigenes of the state.”
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