Kwara Governor Holds Town Hall Meeting On 2020 Budget

Kwara State Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazak on Tuesday said citizens’ aspirations would always drive the budget process under his administration.

The governor, who spoke at a townhall meeting in Ilorin to get the peoples’ input into the 2020 budget of the state, said democracy was about the people and it would be wrong to rule without their input.

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“Democracy is all about the people. It is meaningless when the people are shut out of the processes of governance which in fact revolves around them and their wellbeing. This is the reason we have called this meeting to allow you to make inputs into the budget process.

“While budgeting has always been an annual ritual where the government outlines its priority areas for the next fiscal year, this is the first time in our state that we are seeking the direct inputs of the citizenry to budget. It is the first-time citizens are to say what they think the government should prioritize in the next financial year.

“This kind of citizen participation is an ingredient of participatory democracy and good governance as defined by various global bodies, including the World Bank. We note that the lack of such direct engagement of the citizens in budget preparation in the past was frowned at during a recent assessment of Kwara’s compliance with global best standards and our administration promised to address it immediately.”

The event was attended by dozens of civil society organizations, Faith-based organizations, community-based organizations and professional organizations including the Nigerian Association of Women Journalists, NAWOJ.

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Though happening for the first time in the state, AbdulRazaq said the platform would be widened next year to allow for wider participation of the citizens and promised to ensure that people’s aspirations are reflected in the budget outcome and implementations.

He also said the process would be fast-tracked to meet the January-December budget cycle, promising heavy investment in social infrastructure, agriculture and human capital development.

AbdulRazaq, meanwhile, has passed a vote of confidence in the current leadership of the Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS) which he absolved of any involvement in the recent allegations of fund mismanagement.

He said there’s an on ongoing house cleaning to ensure that such thing never happens again, insisting that public funds is a trust that must be guided jealously.

“(The whole investigation) has nothing to do with the current management of the KWIRS. The KWIRS is waxing stronger, reorganising and moving forward. I have confidence in the leadership of the KWIRS to move Kwara to the next level. EFCC will do its jobs. We’ll allow them to do their jobs and we will all be better for it,” he said.

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Some community leaders who spoke at the occasion lauded the governor for keeping his promise to run a participatory governance.

Ayobola Olupinla, chairperson of NAWOJ in the state, however urged the governor to do more to include women in governance.

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