The management of Ikorodu Local Government has held a 3-day Budget Retreat and brainstorming session to chart the course for its fiscal policy in 2025.
At the end of the retreat, which held at Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, the Executive Chairman of Ikorodu Local Government, Hon Wasiu Adeshina, charged members of staff on the need for improved service delivery for optimal budget performance in the forthcoming year.
Adeshina gave the charge against the backdrop of the elaborate budget projection, noting that without efficient and improved service delivery, it would be difficult to achieve the targets.
‘We have been holding this retreat to move Ikorodu forward, and we pray that this gathering will be fruitful in advancing our goals for 2025’, he said.
He urged the Area Officers to ensure that the Council’s IGR increases to 300 Million Naira by 2025. He also emphasized that the scope of the new budget would be expanded.
Adeshina, in tasking the Council Management staff on improved service delivery also recalled how his administration has been able to improve on the Council’s internally generated revenue from N5 Million Naira in 2015 to projected N300 Million in 2025.
‘When I assumed office in 2015, there was no proper structure or single file in place. We had to work diligently to put things right. Our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) at the time was less than 5 Million Naira. We had to seek assistance from the Governor, who believed Ikorodu is a productive community with the potential to generate more revenue’, he added.
At that time, the NEPA (electricity) debts were significantly high, but we have been able to address these challenges and accomplish remarkable milestones.
We have digitized our receipts and other financial documentation, a significant improvement from what we inherited. I even ensured that the salaries and allowances of the Councillors who had left were paid, along with those of the Baales.
Speaking about some of the plans for 2025, Adeshina disclosed that the local government will focus on renovating the external walls of the council to give it a more appealing and modern look.
‘It is my desire to leave the secretariat in a far better state than I met it’, he said.
Similarly, the Council Leader of the local government, Hon Adebola Adebowale has assured of prompt and speedy consideration of the budget when presented to the Legislative Chamber.
Adebowale stated that, with the effective participation of the Councillors in the budget retreat, the document won’t be strange to them when it is time to work on it.
The 2025 Budget Retreat which is the 9th Edition under the incumbent administration was graced by the Council cabinet members, Councillors, Senior Management Staffs and Chieftains of the ruling, All Progressives Congress (APC), led by the Party Chairman, Hon. Waheed Animashaun.
