His Excellency, the Governor of Ogun State, Prince ‘Dapo Abiodun MFR,
The Deputy Governor, Engr. Noimot Salako Oyedele,
The Chief Judge of Ogun State,
Former Governors (here present),
Former Deputy Governors (here present),
The Deputy Speaker, Hon. Dare Kadiri,
All former Speakers (here present),
Principal Officers of the House,
Others Distinguished Hon. Members,
All former Hon. Members (here present),
The Secretary to the State Government,
The Head of Service,
Clerk of the House/Head of Legislative Service
Members of the State Executive Council,
Chairman of Statutory Commissions and Boards,
Permanent Secretaries and General Managers,
APC Party Chairman,
Elders and Leaders of our Party,
Members of the Business Community,
Gentlemen of the Press,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen.

I warmly welcome our ever dependable, consistent, resilient, innovative and indefatigable Governor, Prince ‘Dapo Abiodun MFR, to this vibrant, peaceful and honourable House that has continued to set the pace in legislative achievements in the Country, for the presentation of the Year 2021 Appropriation Bill, which is a constitutional requirement that all elected Governors must fulfil in consonance with provisions of Section 121 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

2. At the inception of this Administration, only few insightful people understood your dream for the State, but having succeeded in making it roar in an unprecedented manner among the comity of States in the Country, Your Excellency, without mincing words, the good people of Ogun State, the entire Citizenry of Nigeria and, by extension, the whole world are all living witnesses to Your Excellency`s ongoing monumental achievements and how you have been turning your dream for a prosperous Ogun State into reality.

3. However, today, in the history of this administration, another giant stride is being made as the second Annual Budget of this administration is being presented to the Ninth Assembly of the State Legislature. I wish to inform all here present that, in the past one year, the House did not fail in performing its Constitutional responsibilities which include the followings among others;
(i). Passage of Bills and Motions; The Ninth Assembly has been able to consider and passed into Laws Thirty-three (33) Bills covering Finance, Education, Judiciary, Local Government and Infrastructure, amongst others, While Twenty three (23) Motions were passed into Resolutions. The Resolutions covered a wide range of issues; General Administration, Security, Land matters, Local government issues, Education, Finance, Judiciary, Audit, Public Works and Infrastructure, Community Development, Parks and Garages and Traffic Compliance and Enforcement. 33 Stakeholders Fora were held in respect of Bills processed by this House and all the resolutions made have direct bearing on the life of our people.

(ii). Oversight Function; It is pertinent to mention that the House has equally ensured effective compliance with the provisions of the Year 2020 Appropriation Law through its oversight on projects executed by various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA`S) of government in the State.
(iii). Quasi- Judicial Functions; The House also mediates on issues that may cause disharmony amongst the people or breach of the peace in the State. The House, during the period under review, was able to resolve Thirty-six (36) Public Petitions bordering on issues such as; conflicts between Ilupeju Elefun Community Development Association, Obantoko, residents and Road Contractors on the later’s evasive attitude and failure to replace damaged electricity poles, Protest against illegal toll gate and molestation of women in Aiyetuntun Community Development Association Area in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government, among others.
(iv). Capacity Development.
The House, due to the high turnover of its legislators at every election and the need to constantly keep abreast of developments in the very dynamic legislative practice and procedure, has to ensure regular training of Honourable Members and Personnel, but this was made difficult by paucity of funds. However, the zeal to add value to ourselves propelled Honourable Members and Senior Staff Members to embark on self sponsored local and International Trainings and these has enhanced the performance of the House greatly.
(v) Staff Matters and Welfare;
The leadership of the House put the welfare of Members and Staff on its front burner; hence the commencement of a number programmes to address welfare matters. These include;
(a). Soft Loan Scheme: provides opportunity to take soft loan to address sudden and minor financial challenges to enable them concentrate on their job as well as protect them from Shylock Money Lenders such as Gbomu-le Lantern.
(b). Essential Commodities Store: provides groceries and house-hold consumables to Staff at Manufacturers’ rates as well as credit purchase to cushion the effect of inflation.

Your Excellency Sir, we are very grateful for the prompt payment of salaries and allowances of Members and Staff, however, it is necessary to acquaint Your Excellency with the fact that these efforts are not enough to address the challenges of our personnel. In order to boost their morale for optimum performance which will engender greater effectiveness and efficiency in service delivery, we wish to passionately appeal to Your Excellency to, despite the current financial challenges, consider and approve the release of various allowances due to Honourable Members and Staff, these include; furniture allowance to Members, outstanding leave bonuses, Wardrobe allowances etcetera.

(vi). Capital Projects, it is essential to mention at this point that in the outgoing year 2020, the Legislative Arm of Government in the State could not implement any major capital project because of paucity of funds. If we care to look up in this Chamber and conduct a tour of office accommodation in the Complex, the enormous needs of this legislature will be apparent; in fact regular maintenance has kept it up to this state as the structure was constructed in 1979. In effect, we wish to appeal to His Excellency to come to the aid of the House in fixing the problem of Office accommodation of the legislature in the State, if done, it will stand as a signature project of the present administration in the State.
Similarly, Members of the Ninth Legislature have not been able to execute any State government sponsored Constituency Project since its inauguration in 2019. Sir, permit me to acquaint Your Excellency with the fact that non-execution of constituency projects by Members of the ninth Assembly has made our constituents to rate us lower in comparison with our predecessors, in performance rating.
4. All told, it is gladdening and commendable to mention that the House has been able to conduct its legislative business till date without rancour or disharmony amongst its Members despite the heterogeneous nature of Political Party Representation in the Assembly. Similarly, the House has been able to maintain cordial and peaceful relationship with the Executive Arm of Government and this has, no doubt, reflected in the level of achievements recorded by the present administration in the State within a short period.

5. The entire membership of this honourable House is extremely in high spirits and contended that after four years of this Administration, the tremendous achievements that will be recorded by your purposeful leadership would be acknowledged even by the most ardent critics. The present legislature, through hard work, has become primus-inter-pares in the areas of harmonious relationship with the Executive Arm of Government in the whole of the Federation.
I commend the Executive arm, fellow Legislators and the Judiciary for our concerted efforts to move the State to higher pedestals.

6. The collaboration of the Fourth Estate of the Realm with the aforementioned Arms cannot be pushed aside. To this end, I commend the media for their un-wavering steadfast and resolute approach to issues which have greatly influenced a stable polity, as well as peaceful co-existence and mutual understanding among the people of the State. It is my fervent prayer that this cordial relationship is maintained. It is only by having this very democratic strong hold that we can flourish as a political entity and create an enabling environment for improved dividends of democracy for the citizens.

7. In conclusion, I commend the Ogun State Civil Servants for their allegiance, unalloyed Support and Industry which has greatly facilitated the wonderful achievements recorded by Your Excellency’s Administration in no small measure.

8. It is on this note that I hereby invite Your Excellency, Prince ‘Dapo Abiodun MFR, to present to the people of Ogun State the Year 2021 Appropriation Bill and thereafter lay it on the table in accordance with Section 121 sub-section 1 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
Mr. Governor, Sir,

Thank you and God bless.

CLOSING REMARKS OF THE SPEAKER, OGUN STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY, RT. HON. PRINCE OLAKUNLE TAIWO OLUOMO ON THE OCCASION OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE 2021 APPROPRIATION BILL BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PRINCE ‘DAPO ABIODUN, MFR ON WEDNESDAY, 3RD DECEMBER, 2020 IN THE HALLOWED CHAMBER

Your Excellency, the Governor of Ogun State, Prince ‘Dapo Abiodun MFR,
Your Excellency, the Deputy Governor, Engr. Mrs Noimat Salako Oyedele,
Your Excellencies, Former Governors (here present),
The Deputy Speaker, Honourable Dare Kadiri,
All Former Speakers (here present),
Principal Officers of the House,
Other Distinguished Honourable Members,
All Former Honourable Members (here present),
Members of the State Executive Council,
Chairmen of Statutory Commissions and Boards,
Permanent Secretaries and General Managers,
Our Highly Revered Party Chieftains,
Members of the Business Community,
Gentlemen of the Press,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

Glory be to God, the most high, for making this occasion a huge success. The Budget just presented by His Excellency, Prince ‘Dapo Abiodun MFR, is another milestone in the march of this administration towards building the Ogun State of our dream. His Excellency and every member of the current administration in the State have committed ourselves to the implementation of programmes and projects that will actualise the realisation of our goal.

Ladies and Gentlemen, without being immodest, this occasion is yet another testimony to the vibrancy of this government. The people of Ogun State deserve nothing less than an innovative leadership as the head of the Executive Arm, a fearless Judiciary and a vibrant and articulate Legislature. Our people must have, by now, realised through the various projects, both completed and on-going that this administration meant well for the State and we shall not relent on our oars to ensure that our State takes its pride of place among the comity of States in the Federation.

On behalf of all Honourable Members of the House, I want to assure the Executive Arm of the cooperation and support of the Legislature in the passage of Laws and Resolutions that will facilitate the provision of the needed infrastructural facilities and other necessities of life that will add value to the quality of life of all residents in the State.

Let me seize this opportunity to assure you all, that the legislature will give the required attention to the Year 2021 Appropriation Bill just presented to the House and ensure its passage within the shortest possible time.

Mr. Governor Sir, the Deputy Governor, Honourable Commissioners, Senior Special Assistants, leaders of our great party, special guests, members of the media, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your attention and God bless.