News

Obaseki Presents N320bn 2023 Budget, Focuses On Education, Health

Published

1 year ago

November 16, 2022

Editor

Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, on Wednesday, presented a N320.35bn budget to the Edo State House of Assembly for the 2023 fiscal year, representing a 69.37 percent increase from the N222bn budgeted for the year 2022.

Obaseki presented the budget to the Assembly sitting at the Anthony Enahoro Assembly Complex in Benin City, and said the budget comprises N192 billion for capital and N127.5 billion for recurrent expenditure.

According to the governor, the document christened ‘Budget of Resilience and Transformation,’ was informed by the need to “build a resilient and sustainable foundation for the reforms, initiatives, and programmes that we have embarked on in the last six years.”

“Our strategic goal is to utilise manufacturing, technology, agriculture, arts, culture, and entertainment as the catalyst to promote sustained investment across all sectors of the Edo economy,” he added.

Obaseki noted that the total projected revenue for 2023 is N300 billion, consisting of N144.26 billion statutory allocation, made up of Value Added Tax of N41.2 billion; Capital receipts of 46.1bn; IGR, N60.4 billion and N4 billion from grants, among others, adding, “The balance of will be sourced from development financing and financial institutions.”

Obaseki further said, “The revenue estimates for the budget is based on a $70 per barrel benchmark for crude oil and average daily production of 1.69m barrels per day as well as an increase in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to N60.4bn, owing to reforms in tax collection and land management activities.

“Our intention is to push for revenue and reforms in the built environment. We are committed to boosting capital spending this year. To this end, we expect a capital/recurrent expenditure ratio of 60.2 per cent to 39.8 percent respectively. This would reinvigorate the economy, providing the right impetus for the needed growth expected in the year.”

Receiving the 2023 budget proposal, Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Marcus Onobun, hailed the governor for his efforts at ensuring economic prosperity for the state, adding, “It is worthy to note that at the presentation of the year 2022 budget, you made certain commitments to the people of Edo in relation to infrastructural transformation, healthcare, education and economic development of the State.

“It is commendable that despite the looming global economic meltdown and other uncertainties, you were able to deliver set goals as outlined. On behalf of my colleagues, I applaud you for your sterling performance despite the odds. We applaud your visionary initiatives, leadership, passion, strategic innovation, and dedication to our dear state and its people.

“As a House, we will hold ourselves to the highest standards of integrity in carrying out this constitutionally assigned duty of scrutinizing and the consideration of this budget for the benefit of the state. We will ensure that this budget proposal receives timely consideration. We will collaborate with relevant stakeholders, Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of government to deliver a budget that is exemplary; a budget that focuses on the aspirations and needs of the people of Edo State.”

The governor, earlier, listed education, health, road transport, buildings, agriculture, energy, and electricity, as well as economic enablers, as the areas of focus in the 2023 fiscal year.

News

‘I’m Considering Having 4th Child’ – Mother Of Three Who Breastfeeds Husband , 3 Kids [PHOTOS]

Published

3 hours ago

May 7, 2024

Editor

A Florida woman who made headlines for breastfeeding her husband has revealed that they are considering having another baby so she starts lactating again.

Rachel Bailey, 31, and her husband Alexander, 30, said they have “grieved” their “bonding experience” since her body stopped producing milk in the past year.

The couple’s three children have all weaned off the milk, which meant Alexander had to as well.

Now, they are considering having a fourth child so they keep up the habit.

“I was in so much pain and I was scared about getting an infection, so we decided that my husband was going to try drinking the milk to relieve me,” she said.

Mum-of-three who breastfeeds her husband alongside their kids reveals she

“We were nervous about the idea of him breastfeeding from me as we thought it seemed weird, but as soon as we did it, we realized it was perfectly fine.”

The couple continued the practice after the births of their two younger children, with Ms Bailey breastfeeding her husband at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Once her supply dwindled, they switched to nightly feedings. Ms Bailey claims that because her milk is “so nutritious,” it kept Alexander from getting a cold for more than two years and left his skin glowing.

“He ended up loving the taste of my breast milk and even prefers it to cow’s milk now,” she said.

When her breasts stopped producing milk, she said they grieved the bonding experience they shared because of her breastfeeding him.

They even briefly considered growing their family to keep up the breastfeeding.

“We grieved that bonding experience that we shared, and we even spoke about having one more baby so that we could do it again,” Ms Bailey said.

“However, we realized that was a drastic action to take and a lot of work, so instead we began looking for other ways that we could bond as a couple.”

Instead, they now get up at 5 am each morning to catch up and meditate before getting on with the rest of their day.

“It was never a sexual thing for us. We did it because it was an amazing way for us to bond and share something special as a couple,” Ms Bailey said.

“We really miss the breastfeeding times that we shared, but we have found new ways to connect.”

News

VIDEO Newly Appointed LG Supervisors, Advisers In Ekiti Take Oath Of Office With ‘Ogún’

Published

4 hours ago

May 7, 2024

Editor

A video showing newly appointed supervisors and advisers of Ikere-Ekiti LGA in Ekiti state were sworn in with an ‘Ògún’ totem and the Quran.

A viral video shows the supervisors and advisers swearing at the conference hall of the office of Olu Adamolekun, chairman of Ikere-Ekiti LGA.

The oath of office was administered on the appointees by Adamolekun. The appointees could be seen taking turns to wield a cutlass (a totem for the god of iron) in one hand and a Quran in the other.

While administering the oath of office, Adamolekun asked the appointees to repeat the following in Yoruba

‘’From today, I will be loyal and truthful to BAO (Ekiti state governor), and Monisade (deputy governor), APC and its leaders. I will take instructions from the leaders. If I refuse to do so, Ogun or Quran should kill me. For this, I will be truthful” each appointee said as they took their oath

In Nigeria, public office holders usually swear an oath of office using the Quran or Bible, while pledging allegiance to the constitution.

Watch the video of the swearing-in ceremony below:

News

JUST IN: DSS Arrests Wanted Oyo Motorpark Boss, Auxiliary

Published

5 hours ago

May 7, 2024

Editor

The Department of State Services has reportedly arrested the wanted former chairman of the Oyo State Park Management System, Mukaila Lamidi, popularly known as Auxiliary.

The PUNCH reliably gathered that Auxiliary was arrested at about 4:00 pm on Tuesday at his residence in the Olodo area of Ibadan, the state capital.

Although the reasons for his arrest are still sketchy, a source who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity because of the weight of the matter said it was because of an interview he granted on Saturday, May 4, in which he called out Seye Famojuro, a trusted ally of Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, for being behind his woes.

In the interview he granted to Media personnel, Ajibola Akinyefa, in the Yoruba Language, the former PMS chairman said, “If he (Famojuro) is the governor or Seyi Makinde is, we will know. It is just a matter of time. Everybody will face the consequences of their actions. The people he chose to manage the park are cheating themselves.

When asked if it was his hooliganism that led to his removal, Auxiliary queried how many people reported that he beat them to the police.

He further said that Seye would still return to Ijesha because Ibadan is not his homeland.

“Seye will still go back to Ijesha because Ibadan is not his town. Only Governor Seyi Makinde and I will remain here because we won’t run away. And I see that the bird is not working, but God feeds it. Seye will reap the seeds of his actions,” he added.

In May 2023, Auxiliary was arrested after being linked to an alleged attempt by his loyalists to cause trouble in the state following the dissolution of the PMS committee by Makinde.

An impeccable source who spoke with PUNCH Metro said the police acted swiftly to prevent a breakdown of law and order in the state, adding that during the raid, Lamidi escaped which led to him being declared wanted.

The source, who craved anonymity over fears of harassment, said, “From what we gathered, the police acted on the information that some members of the Auxiliary’s camp wanted to cause trouble based on the government disbanding their operations in the state.

“So, the police were proactive, stormed their location, made some arrests and recovered some arms and ammunition. But Auxiliary was not arrested. The people arrested were in connection with the fact that intelligence linked them to an attempt to cause trouble in the state today.”

However, attempts to reach the spokesperson for DSS, Peter Afunnaya, proved abortive as several calls made to him were unanswered and text messages ignored.