The Ondo State Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr Laolu Akindolire has taken the consultations on the 2026 budget to the grassroots, declaring that the State government will continue to prioritize the needs of the people with a view of making life meaningful for them.
The Commissioner gave the assurance in Ikare – Akoko, headquarters of Akoko North East Local Government Area of the State during a Consultative Forum on the 2026–2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the 2026 Budget with stakeholders from the four local government areas from Akoko area in attendance.
Mr. Akindolire, who was ably represented by the Adminstrative Secretary of the Budget office, Mr. Stephen Aworere reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to ensuring that citizens’ submissions form major parts of the budget preparation and implementation.
“This consultative forum is a cornerstone of our participatory budgeting process. It reflects our administration’s commitment to listening to the people and translating their needs into actionable policies,” the Commissioner stated.
He assured the gathering that their submissions would be reviewed in detail and confirmed that the 2026 budget would be presented to the House of Assembly by the end of October.
A participant, High chief Aiyemowa Jimoh, who represented Olubaka of Oka, Oba Dr Yusuf Adebori Adeleye OON at the event expressed heartfelt appreciation to the State government for its continued commitment to inclusive governance saying “by opening the budget planning process to public input, the government has demonstrated its dedication to transparency and accountability “.
Stakeholders, which included Traditional Rulers, Student Unions leaders, NGOs, Community-Based Organizations, Women’s Groups, Civil asociety Organizations and the Media among others, identified several priority areas for government’s consideration in the 2026 budget to include rehabilitation of rural roads,renovation of public schools, upgrading of local market infrastructure.
Other requests include provision of potable water,strengthening security architecture,
greater support for local farmers,transparent youth empowerment programmes and increased representation of women in leadership roles.
