By Fatima Muraina
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Ondo State Government has stressed the need  for ministries and parastatals to go through the due process in stages involved in the release of funds in order to have easy accessibility to funds and  adequate proper  records.

The State Parmanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Mr Gbenga Adelayi stated this at a two-day sensitization workshop on expenditure matters for all directors of Finance and Administration, Directors of Accounts and other stakeholders held in Akure, Ondo state..

Adelayi in his address observed that the Ministeries/Extraministerial Departments/Agencies (MEAs) do not return their monthly expenditure which was not prepared in line with the procedures and guidelines stipulated in the circulars sent to them.

This he noted brought about the workshop to ensure budget discipline among government Ministries, Agencies and Paraststals.

He described over budgetary expenditure as a major challenge of budget implementation over the years which he said has manifested in various cases of approval of Mr Governor which agencies get without necessary provision in the budget to effect the release of funds requested.

Adelayi, who reeled out the various functions of the ministry of Finance in budget implementation disclosed that the monthly Tracking exercise put in place streamlined the flow of all approved and released funds at all time.

He called for the cooperation of all stakeholders in overcoming the challenges of over-budgetary expenditure to make the state, a financially progressive one.

Earlier, the Director of Expenditure, Mr Tokunbo Ayejoto had said the Two-day workshop will give good consideration to those aspects of budget implementation (expenditure) procedures to identify the wrong things for corrections to avoid obstacles in fund release.

He advised various agencies of government to follow the procedures of fund accessment for easy accessibility and to ensure that the deserved funding for all government projects are accessed adequately.

Two papers, Accessing Fund from the Ministry of Finance and Expenditure Control in government were presented by the Director and his Deputy Mrs ‘Jumoke Falade respectively.