THE Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, trended on X this week as many Nigerian netizens called him out over the poor quality of roads in some communities in the state.
Several social media users stormed the X platform (formerly Twitter) with various claims, images and videos showing the poor state of roads in various parts of the state. Attached to the social media posts is the hashtag #Dapofixogunroads.
One of the netizens leading the social media campaign on X is Hauwa Allahbura, with the username: @HauwaAllahbura.
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On July 2, 2024, Hauwa claimed on X that the Ogun State government budgeted a higher allocation for the office of the governor than the state’s Ministry of Works.
“Ministry of Works Budget in 2024 N480mn. Governor STEEZE Budget is about N103bn. How will Ogun State roads be fixed? We beg you steeze governor, remove some budget from your steeze and fix the roads. #Dapofixogunroads.”
The post has generated over 52,000 views with over 400 reposts and more than 600 likes as of July 6, 2024.
CLAIM
The budget for Ogun state governor’s office is higher than that of the state’s Ministry of Works.
THE FINDINGS
Checks by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE, as the N103 billion allocated for the Ogun State governor’s office in the 2024 budget is not strictly for Governor Dapo Abiodun but included government agencies under the governor’s office supervision.
In December 2023, Ogun State House of Assembly passed the 2024 Appropriation Bill of N703 billion. The budget was titled “Budget of Sustained Growth and Development.”
The budget comprised of N415.66 billion for capital expenditures and N287.37 billion for recurrent expenditures in the state.
The state’s 2024 budget has revenue costs of N27.35 billion, personnel costs of N95.05 billion, overhead expenses of N105.88 billion, and public debt charges of N59.09 billion.
“The 2024 budget proposal is the fifth prepared by this administration. It reflects the serious challenges currently facing our state, the key reforms necessary to address them, and imperatives to achieve higher, more inclusive, diversified, and sustainable growth,” Abiodun said in November 2023 when he presented the budget to the state’s lawmakers at a plenary session.
A look at the state’s 2024 budget shows that the funds are not restricted to running the governor’s office only.
Out of the N103 billion, only N64 billion was budgeted strictly for the running of Abiodun’s office. A sum of N530 million was meant for the office of deputy governor while the rest was allocated to other agencies under the governor’s office such as Ogun State Road Safety Advisory Council, Bureau of Public Procurement, state’s Bureau of Pension and office of the economic adviser, among others.
Assuming the funds are even meant for the governor’s office only, it’s still lower compared to the budget for the state’s Ministry of Works. A look at the budget shows that N192.4 billion was allocated to the ministry.
THE VERDICT
The claim that the budget for the governor’s office is higher than that of the state’s Ministry of Works is FALSE as findings showed that the latter got a higher allocation.
Nurudeen Akewushola is a fact-checker with FactCheckHub. He has authored several fact checks which have contributed to the fight against information disorder. You can reach him via [email protected] and @NurudeenAkewus1 via Twitter.
