THE importance of citizens’ engagement in the budget process cannot be overemphasised. It is of note that many Government programmes stem from yearly consultative forums. It is on this premise and to bring governance closer to the populace and as part of his all-inclusive agenda that the Executive Chairman of the Agbado Oke-Odo LCDA, Hon. David Famuyiwa, hosted dignitaries and stakeholders of the community to a Stakeholders Consultative Forum today at the Council Secretariat to prepare the Y2025 Budget.
The annual budget consultative forum provides a platform for communities to receive updates on completed and ongoing projects from the outgoing budget, present their developmental requests, and discuss issues affecting their communities.
The Supervisor for Budget, Planning, Research and Statistics, Hon. Gbemileke Adeyeni welcomed everyone to the forum and appealed to them to be more committed financially, morally, and collaboratively with this Government.
Hon. Famuyiwa, in his speech, lauded the attendees for their constant support in setting his administration on the right track. He reassures the residents of his administration's dedication to the successful completion of ongoing projects with a focus on fostering economic growth that is beneficial to the citizens. He added that 80% of the executed projects are the community requests at the 2024 Budget Stakeholders’ forum and the achievements could not have come to reality without the support and cooperation of members of the Executive Committee, Legislators (elected councillors), Management Team, Staff and the great people of Agbado/Oke-Odo LCDA.
He, however, stated that the optimal performance of the budget is strongly dependent on revenue generation. He concluded by appealing for more support for his administration in his quest to improve the standard of living of residents by ensuring that levies and rates due to the council are paid as and when due. He emphasised that Internally Generated Revenue remains one of the ways his administration meets most of the residents' expectations in terms of the provision of various social amenities in our communities.
The highlight of the event was the stakeholders breaking into groups/Wards to decide on the projects that need attention in their various communities and locations.
Present at the forum were representatives from the different sections of the council area, including Council Executives, Management Team, Members of Staff, Party Leaders, Traditional Rulers, Religious Associations, Artisans, Market Leaders, Youths, and People Living with Disabilities, among others.
