The 2025 budget for Ondo State has raised eyebrows with significant allocations for security votes, travel, and contingencies, amounting to billions of naira. The budget, passed by the State House of Assembly and signed into law by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa last month, only recently became public.
A copy of the fiscal document, titled “Budget of Recovery,” revealed that the Ministry of Finance allocated ₦11.5 billion for security votes and ₦6 million for telephone calls in the coming year.
Other notable provisions include:
₦250 million for honorarium and sitting allowances.
₦1.5 billion for contingencies.
₦52 million for printing security documents.
₦27 million for refreshments.
The ministry also budgeted ₦42 million for local travel and ₦120 million for international travel, while conferences, seminars, and workshops were allocated an additional ₦120 million. Financial consulting services will cost ₦500 million, and generator fuel costs are pegged at ₦61 million, alongside ₦450 million for electricity charges.
The Ondo State House of Assembly also received a substantial chunk of the budget, with ₦462 million allocated for maintaining vehicles belonging to the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and 24 lawmakers, just a year after the Speaker, Olamide Oladiji, and Deputy Speaker, Abayomi Akinruntan, were gifted brand-new SUVs by Governor Aiyedatiwa.
The Speaker’s office alone was allocated ₦77 million for vehicle maintenance, while the Deputy Speaker and the Assembly received ₦35 million and ₦350 million, respectively.
The budget further revealed that telephone charges for lawmakers totaled ₦235 million, with ₦200 million allocated to the Assembly, ₦28 million to the Speaker, and ₦7 million to the Deputy Speaker.
For local and international travel, the three offices collectively received ₦791 million, with ₦181 million allocated to the Speaker, ₦90 million to the Deputy Speaker, and ₦520 million to the legislature.
Other notable Assembly expenditures include:
₦200 million for printing non-security documents.
₦300 million for electricity charges.
₦20 million for hotel accommodations.
₦50 million for refreshments (with ₦25 million for the Speaker and ₦10 million for the Deputy).
Welfare packages amounting to ₦26 million for the Speaker, ₦11 million for the Deputy, and ₦300 million for lawmakers.
