Edo State Economic Revival: Governor Okpebholo's 2025 Budget Prioritizes Economic Development With ₦166.5billion. By Joachim Okhai

Edo State Economic Revival: Governor Okpebholo's 2025 Budget Prioritizes Economic Development With ₦166.5billion.

By Joachim Okhai.

The purpose of economic growth is to create opportunities for economic security." ~ Elizabeth Warren.

In an audacious and unprecedented stratagem which are fast becoming the hallmarks of the Executive Governor of Edo State, His Excellency, Senator Monday Okpebholo; taking a more critical look at his budget for 2025,  he promulgated a transformative budget for Edo State by apportioning a colossal ₦166.5 billion towards economic development. This prodigious allocation, comprising ₦162 billion earmarked for road construction and maintenance, alongside an initial ₦4.5 billion designated for the agricultural sector, signifies a pivotal juncture in the state's odyssey towards economic renaissance.

The allocation of ₦166.5 billion for economic development epitomizes Elizabeth Warren's view that "the purpose of economic growth is to create opportunities for economic security." By investing in infrastructure and modern agriculture, Okpebholo aims to enhance transportation, create jobs, and ensure food security, paving the way for a secure and prosperous future for Edo State.

The fiscal blueprint also epitomizes his unwavering resolve to mitigate infrastructural deficiencies, ameliorate transportation modalities, catalyze economic dynamism, and fortify alimentary security through the advent of contemporary agronomic methodologies and mechanized farming. The House of Assembly (EDHA) cognizant of the exigent necessity of these investments, augmented the budget to an astronomical ₦676 billion, an augmentation surpassing ₦71 billion. When asked, EDHA Speaker, Blessing Agbebaku, elucidated that the supplementary fiscal provision was indispensable to counteract alimentary insecurity and engender alimentary sufficiency in Edo State, significantly transcending the gubernatorial allocation of ₦4.5 billion.

Notwithstanding, detractors have ascribed this augmentation to fiscal padding by the State House of Assembly. In defiance of these allegations, we remains steadfast in our confidence in Governor Okpebholo's anti-corruption ethos and we shall remain vigilant in appraising the budget's efficaciousness as time goes on.

In juxtaposition, erstwhile Governor Godwin Obaseki's budgetary allocations for economic development in Edo State elicited ambivalent reactions. Whilst Obaseki's administration unveiled a budgetary proposition of ₦325.3 billion for the 2024 fiscal annum, with inconsequential investments in growth, employment catalysts, road infrastructure, health, and education, numerous economic development MOUs under his aegis failed to come to fruition, leaving the state ensnared in unfulfilled promises and retrogression. Critics contend that the MOUs constituted not just mere placations, they deprived the state of genuine progress and probity.

Governor Okpebholo's budget, in stark contradistinction, coheres seamlessly with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda, which accentuates economic proliferation, alimentary security, and infrastructural augmentation. This congruence accentuates the administration's commitment to engendering tangible outcomes and fostering sustainable development in Edo State.

In contemplating the successes of prudent budgeting and good governance, we draw inspiration from eminent leaders who have espoused analogous causes. It was Nelson Mandela who once opined, "The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." This adage resonates profoundly with Governor Okpebholo's intrepid approach to economic resuscitation.

In the domain of governance, we also celebrate the success narrative of Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, whose visionary leadership and judicious budgeting have metamorphosed Rwanda into an epitome of economic vigor and stability in Africa. Kagame's accentuation on accountability, transparency, and strategic investments serves as an exemplar for Edo State's trajectory towards economic prosperity.

Let me conclude by saying, Governor Okpebholo's 2025 budget is a clarion call for economic rejuvenation and sustainable development in Edo State. As we embark on this transformative journey, let us draw inspiration from the sagacious words of Martin Luther King Jr.: "The time is always right to do what is right." With unyielding determination and an unwavering commitment to good governance, Edo State is poised to ascend to unparalleled heights, delivering the dividends of democracy to its populace and setting an unprecedented standard for economic development in Nigeria.