The son of the Ondo state Governor, Babajide Akeredolu has posted on his social media platform his position on the controversial #4.3billion found in a secret bank account that is being probed by the state House of Assembly.
Read him;
I FOUND THE 4 BILLION! YOU ALSO CAN TOO. YOU CAN FIND IT IN THE SALARY ARREARS!
LOL. I’ve been reading a lot of this whole 4 Billion house Saga. I don’t even have to be an insider to be able to Follow The Money. My analysis as a citizen of Ondo State.
The Auditor general report that is being “leaked” was from 2018. Auditor general is an arm of the executive so it came from the executive. That means there must be a record somewhere approved by the administration. Where can one find a record of revenue of the State? The state budget. The budget is public at ondobudget.com
To know what happened in 2018, you have to review the 2019 budget summary for an actual revenue generated by the state in 2018. In 2018, there is a line item called “Cash Reserves and Rollover fund” of over 4 Billion.
Hmmm.
Is a 4 billion “cash reserves fund” regular in Ondo State? I reviewed all the other budgets from 2017, 2019 and 2020 and found that this was a unique year for rollover.
Oh look! I found the money in three clicks.
Then I asked myself, should 4Billion be an issue or should it be treated politically? I reviewed many of the other revenue generated and there are three other major revenue that were 2 to 3 times this figure that weren’t politicized.
Noise most unnecessary.
Then I asked. Ok, what exactly is 4 billion in the grand scheme of a state budget; Overall revenue for 2018 was N106B and actual budget was N181B. So budget performance was still only 58.5%. So even with that extra 4 billion, the state could barely meet half of its budgeted obligations.
Then I asked again, your total revenue in 2018 is N106B. How much of your money is capital vs recurrent expenditure? Since the administration is quite loud about its prompt payment of salaries and arrears.
According to NBS/Budgit, Ondo state has on average spent around 86% of its revenue on recurrent expenditure (salaries and pensions etc). So in summary, odds are that of that 4.3 Billon, 86% was spent on paying salaries and arrears.
Maybe that explains why in 2018, more arrears were paid than any other year of this administration. (Not to take away from the Paris club refund. That was a major factor also)
I have only 2 questions.
This was from 2018 and the audited report was submitted from the executive to the house since then. Why is it coming up now? This is rhetorical.
We all know why. It is all part of the game. This administration must play. 2020 LOADING! BATTLE OF THE SANS. One was called customer daa da in 2016. The contender is the new customer daa da.
I dont think it is a good strategy though. Records are public, there has been 2 budget defenses, hearings and all that senrere before now and no one thought to bring it up? Was the chairman of this committee sleeping on the job all this while?
Why isn’t anyone actually following the money? Lol, it is all there. The internet is a powerful tool people. USE IT TO DEVELOP YOURSELF!
We are probing 2018 when we ought to be asking the executive; what is the plan for a state post covid. What happens in 2020 and beyond when there is no more FAAC.
Covid has obliterated all revenues of all tiers of govt. The past is irrelevant, it is the future that matters.
We are playing around here. Let us continue to play politics with our future.
In the meantime, I’ve had the opportunity of chatting with the SSA on Innovation and Partnerships Joel Ogunsola who is working with the Chairman of the Internal Revenue Service on a strategy for an Ondo State post Covid. They have superb ideas the state is looking to implement.
I’ve contributed a detailed economic analysis developed by our friends at Dalberg on new economic opportunities in this Covid era to assist with their work. We are hopeful that this information will assist the state in developing promising solutions that will help the economy.