Lagos Assembly Decries LGs Revenue Generation

The Public Accounts Committee (Local Governments) of the Lagos State House of Assembly has lamented the poor state of revenue generation by the local governments and local council development areas in the state.

The committee, therefore, implored the 57 local government councils and local council development area in the state to put in more efforts in the revenue generation.

Chairman of the Committee, Dayo Fafunmi, expressed this worry at the presentation of the year 2010 Auditors Report for Local Government held at the Assembly.

According to him, “the committee discovered a lot of debts during the exercise in terms of unfinished paid loans and unremitted statutory money meant to be paid to the federal and state Accounts respectively.”

“There is need for all local governments and LCDAs to find out their strength, which especially has to do with those in the coastal areas, and improve on it (revenue generation) so as to boost their revenue.”

Fafunmi said vibrant revenue drive would assist them in improving education, community health services and poverty alleviation as well as infrastructural facilities at the grassroots levels.

In his response, a member of the committee, Abiodun Tobun, representing Epe Constituency 1, said punitive measures should be initiated against any local government that refuses to respond to query issued by the Office of the Auditor General Local Government with immediacy.

Meanwhile, Fafunmi and his team have enjoined the Olorunda LCDA to purchase equipment to help the LCDA in the repair of roads in the area.

Fafunmi said procuring the equipment directly would have more advantages for the LCDA.

Some local governments which have updated reports were given kudos by the committee, urging others to emulate their counterparts.

The committee is expected to complete its work by the end of the week.