Ministries, Departments, Agencies and Boards in Ondo state yesterday began the year 2019 budget defence before the Ondo State House of Assembly Committee on Finance and Appropriation.



The document was thereafter was committed to the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation having passed through first and second reading on the floor of the House.



Although the House was still on recess, but members of the committee broke their recess to entertain the budget proposal and ensure its speedy passage into law.



Declaring the public sitting open, the Speaker of the House, Bamidele Oleyelogun, warned heads of MDAs against making frivolous requests, saying that such shall not be entertained in the current exercise.



Oleyelogun observed that the 2019 budget was targeted at completion of numerous ongoing programmes and projects embarked on by the present governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu led administration.



Oleyelogun also commended Akeredolu for approving a special training programme on MTEF for key officers of the Assembly, noting that the knowledge and experiences gained would go a long way in assisting the hallowed chambers in scrutinising the appropriation bill under consideration in the best interest of the people of the state.



Earlier, in his welcome address, the Chairman, House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, Sunday Olajide, lauded the governor Akeredolu for forwarding some bills bordering on Public Finance Management as well as regulating the operations of government to the House of Assembly, as a way of ensuring a very realistic and workable fiscal instrument.



He implored all major actors in the implementation of the financial instrument to continually strive hard to ensure the sustenance of all government’s policies and also improve on them in order to further engender accountability, prudence and transparency.