Ondo receives N210b from federation account

The Ondo state government received more than N210 billion in the last three and a half years from the federation account.
Speaking to newsmen at a news conference last weekend in Akure, the state commissioner for finance, Mr Tayo Alasoadura, said that this was more than what it received from 1976 to 2000, put together.
Alasoadura berated critics of the state government who have been accusing the government for non performance.
He said that the state government had constructed more than 500 kms of roads across the state and raised the level of water supply from three per cent in 2003 to 30 per cent in 2006.
Alasoadura said the critics had failed to understand that the amount being expended on recurrent expenditure had increased astronomically when compared with the recurrent expenditure of 1976 to 2006 due to increase in the number of workers.
According to him, the exchange rate of the naira and inflationary rates have gone up ten fold during the present administration when compared to what happened during other administrations.
The commissioner disclosed that the state government expended N54 billion last year on both its recurrent and capital expenditure.
He said the state government received N14 billion in the last quarter of 2006 from the federation account out of which N210 million was deducted at source by the federal government for the payment of fertilizers collected by the state.
Alasoadura said that N2.4 billion had been released for the take-off of a mega city in Ilaje while the state government was having more than N2 billion in its coffers.
He said the state government would embark on cash projection this fiscal year to guard against award of contracts without cash backing.
He stressed that this was to ensure that all projects were completed before the exit of the current administration.
According to him, the government will put a stop to awarding contracts, if need be, to ensure effective management of the 2007 budget.