..as DINABI trains Stakeholders on Budget Tracking, Transparency

As part of its ongoing project to advance the rights of Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) in Ondo State, the Disability Not A Barrier Initiative (DINABI) organised a two-day workshop and town hall meeting for key stakeholders and PWDs on the budget cycle.

The programme, funded by the Disability Rights Fund and held at Sunview Hotel, Alagbaka, Akure, featured a review of the Ondo State 2025 budget compared to that of 2024, with emphasis on the percentage allocated to PWDs out of the total budgets for the years under review.

The Executive Director of DINABI, Engr. Funso Olajide, took participants through the processes of tracking, monitoring, and reporting on budgets, stressing that the public has the legal right to track the performance of approved government projects—how they are executed, by whom, and with what amount.

Participants were also introduced to budget-tracking tools by the DINABI Project Manager, Mr. Mike Duyile, who analysed various methods of monitoring budget performance, including the use of the Freedom of Information Act to access documents and information.

DINABI presented details of the budgets for the years under review, as provided by the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, and discovered that less than one percent of the total budget was allocated to PWDs.

The group also noted concerns about the execution of some of the approved projects for the PWDs, which they were aware of for the first time.

Meanwhile, findings from DINABI’s survey on PWDs’ knowledge of budgetary processes revealed that 56 percent of PWDs in Ondo State do not have access to budget documents, while 49 percent are unaware of allocations made for them.

Based on these findings, the group recommended that PWDs should be formally involved in all stages of the budget cycle, with adequate opportunities to present their demands.

It also called for budget documents to be produced in accessible formats such as Braille, electronic copies, and sign language, to make access inclusive.

Other highlights of the event included the development of an action plan tailored to the specific needs of PWDs across the state, as well as a call for the reinstatement of six suspended students of the School for the Blind who had voiced concerns about the hardships they face in accessing the school premises.

Stakeholders in attendance included representatives from the state’s Ministries of Women Affairs, Budget and Economic Planning, and Education, as well as civil society organisations, PWD clusters, and the media.