Ondo plans more prudent budget for 2026 amid funding constraints

By Boye Oyeyemi –

The Ondo State Government is considering a more streamlined and realistic budget for the 2026 fiscal year in a bid to align its financial plans with available and accessible funding sources.

The decision is coming on the heels of poor budgeting performance as a result of non-payment by foreign development funding organisations for implementation of the 2025 budget.

Disclosing this at the consultative meeting in Akure with stakeholders on the 2026-2028 medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) and 2026 budget organised by the state Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa said the state was focusing on hinging its budget on funds the state is sure of accessing.

It would be recalled that the state’s 2025 budget was N698,659,496,000.

The capital expenditure was N433,622,000, which was 63.07 per cent of the total budget, while the recurrent expenditure was N222,168,420,000.

In his address, the governor, who was represented by the state Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr ‘Laolu Akindolire, explained that the state government would be looking at preparing a sizable budget that is within the financial strength of the state.

He disclosed that the state would no longer hinge the funding of its budget on development funding, which he explained is too cumbersome to access.

“When we looked at the 2025 capital budget, it’s just too unrealistic. A capital budget of N433 billion – how do you fund it?. This is what brought about the need to prepare a more realistic budget that would be well funded. Such that we would be able to perform about 70 to 80 per cent.

“It’s not the size of a budget that matters; it’s the ability to fund it and to perform to meet the aspirations of our people. When we put the figures together, we want to see what we can actually get. That’s what we are relying on for the preparation of the 2026 budget,” he said.