The Oyo State Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde has approved the promotion of all civil and public servants whose promotions were due in 2022.

In a media briefing today, on the 7th Executive Council meeting of Omituntun 2.0, the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Prince Dotun Oyelade, said the development is consistent with government policy on workers’ welfare in the past 4 years.

The Commissioner for Information and Orientation recalled that the Seyi Makinde-led conducted the 2017-2021 promotion exercises.

For 2022, the Governor has given approval for the conduct of the promotion of 7, 276 civil servants.

Also speaking, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Prof. Musbau Babatunde said Exco approved the realignment of the 2023 supplementary budget, to be presented to the Oyo State House of Assembly for approval.

He said the decision was necessitated by the twin economic policy of subsidy removal and the unification of exchange rates has led to some shifts in macro-economic fundamentals in the state, with respect to inflation, exchange and interest rates.

The Commissioner said the Oyo State Government took into decision certain projects that are going on, overridden by costs.

He added that requests by MDAs on the need to situate their current budget performance in the context of the shift in macroeconomic fundamentals.

Babatunde said the increment in the 2023 budget size is from Three Hundred and ten billion, Four hundred and thirty-two million, five hundred thousand naira (N310,432,500,000.00)

to the sum of Three hundred and Fifty-two billion, Three hundred and Eighty-two million, five-hundred thousand, (N352,382,500,000.00)

The Commissioner also said idle funds in some MDAs have been realigned in line with the current economic realities.

He said the Oyo State Government is currently negotiating with the Nigeria Labour Congress, and decisions taken from the meeting will be included in the realigned supplementary budget.

The Commissioner said the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (2024-2026) on which the 2024 budget will be premised has been approved by the Exco.

The approved figure for this is Four Hundred and Twenty-four Billion, Four Hundred and ten Million, Six hundred and eleven Thousand, Nine hundred and thirty-eight naira (N424,410,611,938.00)

This is an increase of the sum of Sixty-nine Billion, Two Hundred and Thirty-seven Million, Six hundred and Fifty-eight thousand, Twenty-five naira, (N69,237,658,025.00) which represents 19.49% over the 2023 pre-empted figure of Three Hundred and Fifty-five billion, One Hundred and Seventy-two Million, Nine Hundred and Fifty-three thousand, Nine-hundred and thirteen thousand, (N355,172,953,913.00)

He said the current realigned budget of Three hundred and Fifty-two billion, Three hundred and Eighty-two million, five-hundred thousand naira, (N352,382,500,000.00) mirrors the Oyo State Government’s projection perfectly, for the year 2023.

“We expect the Medium Term Expenditure Framework to be a good guide for the fiscal balance of the year 2024 budget”

Prof. Babatunde added that the Executive Council meeting approved the implementation of the Oyo State Social Protection Document, developed in conjunction with UNICEF.

He said the implementation department, which will be supervised by his office, with the support of relevant agencies, will reduce the challenges of poverty incidents in the state.