Group Urges Osun Govt To Provide Funds For Critical Sectors

–Advises speaker Egbedun To Embark On Public Conducts Lessons

A Non political group, the Osun Renaissance Project has urged the state government to ensure adequate funding for critical sectors for the development and well-being of its citizens. 

The group stated that the government should not only focus on infrastructure also agriculture, human capital, and food security, among others, adding that that overall development of the state should be its focus.

The group in a statement by its spokesperson, Olalekan Fagbemi, stressed that the government should capitalize on tourism in the state as a source of revenue generation.

The statement party reads, “The focus of any government should be overall development of their domain. This covers several development indices including infrastructure, human capital, and food security. One-sided development does not achieve the objective of a sustainable society where all citizens can thrive.

“We take careful note of Governor Adeleke’s infrastructural developmental efforts and while we may have reservations about the necessity of and approach to the execution of a number of the projects, we still commend Government for making the
efforts.

“However, the overall development should be the focus of any government in an emerging State like Osun. We are thus bothered about the seeming neglect of the other critical sectors of development, including Agriculture and Food Security; Women, Children, and Social Affairs; and Youths Development.

“For example, while the Osun State House of Assembly spent a whooping sum of Six hundred and eleven million, Ninety-One thousand two hundred and Eighty Naira, Forty-Eight Kobo (611,091,280.48) in Quarter 1 of 2024, the entire Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security got a paltry One Hundred and Sixty-Four million, Nine hundred and Ninety-Seven thousand, Nine hundred and Sixty-Nine Naira, Fifty-Five kobo (164,997,969.55) in the same period.

“The Osun State House of Assembly, a sector of governance that produces nothing, got nearly four times the fund allocated to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security that is expected to produce food and ease the lives of the State’s people.

“Within the same period, the Ministry of Works spent in excess of Seventeen Billion Naira (17,242,506,008.28), suggesting that the current government in the State places a higher value on infrastructure than it places on food security.

“This worrisome trend cannot continue if Osun must truly develop. We must focus on, and adequately finance critical sectors of development, ensuring that we achieve holistic growth that will make life easier on the citizenry.

“We believe that the welfare of State citizens is first the business of the government of that State, especially areas of Food Production, Youth Development, Women & Children Welfare, and Healthcare Delivery. Osun cannot afford to fail in these regards while building bridges.

“One of the greatest potentials that Osun State has today, is the presence of a large number of important tourist attractions that have not just spiritual histories, but also cultural significance.

“A quick look at the Budget Performance report for Quarter 1 2024 also revealed that the Culture and Tourism Ministry received a paltry sum of 172,460,603.60 in three months. This figure will most likely have gone into servicing recurrent expenditure in the Ministry, instead of adequate financing to turn around the tourist attractions.

“We advise the Osun State Government to do better with critical sectors that have capacity to drive revenue generation and deepen our economy.”

Meanwhile, the group while reacting to the a recent dispute involving the speaker of Osun State House of Assembly, Rt Honourable Adewale Egbedun, opined that he should take lesson in public conducts for public office holders.

“The Speaker must take lessons in public conduct for public office holders and understand that our society cannot work by such spontaneous reactions, but through the unobstructed functioning of the several structures that make up our society. As head of the Legislature, he must understand the conducts permissible for his office and must stop acting in ways that call the integrity of his office to question”, the statement added.