Ogun State House of Assembly says the interface between the Assembly and some members of the State Economic Team in charge of budget presentation and implementation is meant to create an exchange of ideas on the mission, components and funding of the yearly appropriation bill to advance socio-economic development.

The Speaker, Rt. Hon. Olakunle Oluomo, who disclosed this while rounding off the year 2023 Budget Retreat titled: "Budget Analysis and Scrutiny: A Panacea for Proper Planning and Development", explained that the various stages in budgeting process required professional and technical inputs of stakeholders which must be harnessed towards achieving the right fiscal proposal to advance the overall development of the State. 

Oluomo acknowledged that the interaction would assist the State lawmakers to have an overview of the financial proposal, with a view to carrying out the necessary scrutiny on the estimates of the relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government during budget defence, with a view to carrying out thorough legislative process on the Appropriation Bill before its passage.

In their presentations, the State Commissioner for Finance, Dapo Okubadejo, his Budget and Planning counterpart, Mr. Olaolu Olabimtan, Works and Infrastructure, Mr. Ade Akinsanya and the State Accountant General, Mr. Tunde Aregbesola explained that the budget was based on the State Medium Term Expenditure Framework, which was the framework for linking the annual spending of MDAs with government long term fiscal strategies. 

They explained the budget objectives, components, sectorial breakdown and analysis including the key performance indicators, funding, revenue profile and debt management as well as national and international economics indicators upon which the financial proposal was based.

Earlier in his lecture, the Director, National Assembly Budget and Research Office, Mohammed Nasiru Saidu, noted that budget scrutiny was critical towards achieving accountability and transparency in the running of government business, saying that there must be a link between the budget and the MTEF to achieve micro economic stability without compromising economic developments.

According to him, there was need to direct the bulk of public spending to the State strategic priorities as anticipated in the State development plans, ensure predictability of funding, improve value for money and set out strategies for economic development.