Gabriel Enenche —
Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun yesterday at a Treasury Board Meeting on year 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the 2022 Budget held at the Obas’ Complex, One Mosan, in Abeokuta, said his administration will not hesitate to clamp on any state government official or contractor indicted for compromising standards in erecting structures that threaten life and property.
He added that if such official or contractor is found guilty of compromising safety and standards, he or she will be jailed.
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Abiodun also said the preoccupation of those responsible for building control should not just be revenue generation alone, but they should ensure due process and best practices in consonance with the State Building Control Regulations.
“If somebody was given approval to construct a storey building and you find out that the person has started decking for the second floor, you give him a stop order and penalty for exceeding the original approval”, he said.
“That is not enough, the penalty should be punitive. Yes, I want to see the money but, I am more concerned about the welfare, wellbeing and wellness of our people”.
“I am coming up with a law that will send workers in the building industry to prison. Workers in these agencies responsible for building control are susceptible to taking bribes. I am going to ensure that there is something in our law that will send head of building control agency to prison if a building collapses in Ogun State under their watch”.
Abiodun, who declared that his administration has increased the Internally Generated Revenue of the state and made more money than any other administration in one year at the end of September, pledged the determination of his administration to sustain the trajectory recorded and also improve on it in the coming year.
The governor, who equally said his government has grown the economy by 20 percent over last year, added that performance of 2020 budget is now over 70 percent, saying “we will achieve 85 percent by the end of the year”.
“VAT campaign was in the spirit of restructuring and fiscal federalism. We have made more money than any other administration in one year at the end of September. We have grown the economy by 20 percent over last year. Budget performance is over 70 percent now and we will achieve 85 percent by the end of the year”.
“We will collate MDA proposals by the end of the month and get the Exco approval to present the budget before the house. And we are hopeful that the needful will be done by the House – defence and synthesisation. By mid December, we should sign the 2022 budget into law”. Abiodun stated.
Abiodun who further called for proffering of new methods of generating revenue by Ministries, Departments and Agencies, emphasised that no MDA would be expenditure-focused alone.
He charged the MDAs to be focused on blocking leakages and improve the revenue generating potentials of their respective agencies, saying that introduction of the Ogun State Land Administration and Revenue Management System (OLARMS), which is part of avenues to improve the internally generated revenue of the state, would help to enhance operational efficiency, effectiveness and boost revenue generation.
