Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State on Friday presented the 2020 Appropriation Bill of N1.168 trillion to the state House of Assembly.
Tagged, “Budget of Awakening to a Greater Lagos,” the budget comprises 62 per cent capital and 38 per cent recurrent expenditure and it is higher in size than the 2019 budget by 34 per cent.
Sanwo-Olu said the budget would be funded by a projected Total Revenue of 1.071 Trillion Naira with a deficit of N97.53bn.
The budget has a proposed capital expenditure of N723.75bn while the Recurrent Expenditure is N444.81bn giving a 62:38 capital to recurrent ratio.
“This, in our view, is strong for development,” said the governor, explaining that his administration had placed an increased focus on wealth creation “where we will take deliberate steps in courting a partnership between our people and various development institutions.”
He said, “In line with this, we have provided N11.8bn as counterpart funds in preparation for various social impact schemes. In addition, we have made provisions for N7.1bn this year, to provide for industrial hubs, parks, graduate internship programs and virtual markets for artisans.
“This is in support for Micro, Small and Medium enterprises which are the engines for both economic and employment growth.
It is equally proposed that a total of 167.81 Billion Naira of the Recurrent Expenditure shall be applied towards personnel costs and other staff-related expenses. This represents 22.02% of the proposed Total Revenue, which is within the acceptable wage policy of 25% of Total Revenue, and includes a provision for the new minimum wage.
“The budget deficit of 97.53 Billion Naira will be financed by both internal and external loans.
Since revenue generation is the spine of any budget, this budget supports investment.”
Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, assured of the passage of the budget before the end of the year.
He said he and his colleagues would promptly and diligently commence work on it, stating further “we as your representatives in this Assembly will not relent in our agitation for quality governance and qualitative representation. As for me, I will never sit on the fence when the battle is to ensure that good governance works in the genuine interest of the people”
The Speaker also tasked local government chairmen to collaborate with the state government, saying that their efforts would definitely impact positively on the achievements of the state government.
He tasked the governor to be bold to lay a solid foundation to be built on by successive administrations, stating that it is high time to come up with innovative ideas and strategies to bring about change to the state with the aim of taking it to the next level.
According to him, more still need to be done about water transportation.
He said, “Ilo rivers running from Sango links Alimosho, Ojo, Amuwo back to CMS. Also, Odo Iya Alaro runs up to Ikorodu. This might sound like a tall order. But we should start from somewhere. Dubai did not start in a day. They laid the foundation and continue building on it. Now, it is an envy of all.”
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