The Peoples Democratic Party in Ondo State has criticised Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa over the recently signed 2025 state budget, labelling it a “budget of looting” due to what it described as wasteful and dubious allocations.
Governor Aiyedatiwa signed the N698.6bn budget into law a week after its passage by the state House of Assembly.
The budget allocates N265.04bn for recurrent expenditure and N433.62bn for capital projects.
However, the PDP has questioned the transparency of the spending plan, singling out allocations it considers frivolous.
These include N200m for lawmakers and N280m for the Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly for “phone expenses.”
In a statement issued on Tuesday by its Publicity Secretary, Kennedy Peretei, the opposition party described the allocations as outrageous and unnecessary.
“The Ondo State 2025 Appropriation Act, signed by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, is aptly a ‘Budget of Looting.’ Yet, the Governor branded it a ‘Budget of Recovery,’” Peretei said.
The PDP also queried the allocation of N11.5bn to the Ministry of Finance under the subhead of “security vote,” stating that such an amount is unjustifiable and raises serious concerns about accountability.
“Not even budget experts can explain the rationale for a Ministry receiving a ‘security vote,’ which is distinct from what the Governor himself collects monthly under the same subhead,” the statement added.
Critical sectors such as education and healthcare, the party noted, were allocated N77.02 billion and N46.02 billion respectively, amounts it deemed inadequate for meaningful development.
The PDP further called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to investigate what it termed the “brazen looting” embedded in the budget.
But the Ondo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress dismissed the PDP’s allegations as baseless and a misrepresentation of facts.
In a statement by its Director of Media and Publicity, Steve Otaloro, the APC argued that the budget was designed to foster economic growth and development in the state.
“The allocations are in line with the state’s development priorities. The PDP’s claims are nothing more than an attempt to discredit the administration out of bitterness for losing the last governorship election,” Otaloro said.
The controversy highlights a deepening rift between the ruling APC and the opposition PDP over the state’s fiscal policies, with questions raised about the prioritisation of funds amid widespread economic challenges.