We remain committed to the process of meeting the demands of these protests. Already, as promised, the Director of Public Prosecution, Ministry of Justice, Oyo State, has withdrawn cases against End SARS protesters, and those in custody have been released.
Last night, I held an emergency meeting with the heads of the main security agencies in Oyo State. I have again restated my position on the ongoing protests to them. And we have agreed that the police should take a back seat as other security agencies take the frontlines in securing the lives of protesters, at this time.
I have always said that I am in this position today because it is the will of the people and of God. And so, I am determined to continue to pursue and expand policies that will show that I respect the yearnings of the people. One of the ways our administration has done this is by ensuring that our communities are involved in the budgeting process.
Elections are all about choices.
And the people of Ondo State must come out on October 10 to make the right choice.
A choice between stagnation and progress.
A choice between sustained poverty and economic recovery.
A choice between exploitation and development.
A choice between continued hardship and prosperity.
As I sign this revised budget, it is a good time to reflect on one issue that has plagued our budget implementation over the years—the issue of poor budget performance. We make robust presentations of plans that mostly end on paper because the funds are not available to implement them. When you have an annual budget performance of about 30%, you will understand why we keep having stagnation in economic growth. Or how else will you explain an IGR average of about N1.8 billion in the past four years?
Seven years is a long time for anyone who put in work to wait to get paid their benefits. Such payments should ideally come immediately on retirement. It is indeed disheartening that the previous administration did not do what they should, when they should.
For those who have never had the privilege of owning a C of O, this is a good opportunity to get one. From now until December 31st, 2020, you can buy the scratch card to obtain the application form for N6,000. And if you are among the first 2,000 applicants, you will get a 15% discount on the cost of processing your C of O.
It is morning yet, but if we are to judge the rest of the day by how the morning has begun, then you can rest assured that it will be a bright day.
On the management of COVID-19 cases, we will continue to allow all confirmed COVID-19 cases who are able to self-isolate at home to do so, in order not to overwhelm the capacity of our isolation centres. This also ensures that the isolation centres are available for those who need hospitalisation.
It is my belief that with this inauguration, members of the commission will get straight to these tasks so that we can get our judicial system working faster. I am also hoping that working with the Legislature, we can domesticate the Nigerian Correctional Service Act 2019, and begin to implement the provisions of that Act, especially regarding the number of inmates kept in correctional facilities and the conditions under which they are kept.