31st December, 2015
As reported exclusively by P.M.NEWS on Monday, the Lagos State House of Assembly on Thursday passed the state’s 2016 budget proposal of N662,588 billion presented by the state governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, on Thursday 17 December.
Presenting the report of the Budget and Economic Planning Committee to the House just before the budget was passed, chairman of the committee, Rotimi Olowo, thanked the Speaker of the House, members of the committee, other lawmakers as well support staff of the House, who he said worked hard to ensure that the process of scrutinising the budget was accelerated.
While passing the budget, Speaker Mudashiru Obasa thanked all the members of the Budget and Economic Planning Committee for their efforts and also commended the other lawmakers for their cooperation.
While presenting the budget, Mr. Ambode had promised to ensure its faithful implementation so as make residents of the state enjoy the dividends of democracy.
The budget, christened ‘The Peoples Budget’, improved by 26 percent over the budgets of 2014 and 2015 respectively which stood at N489.6 billion each.
The governor had explained that the increase would enable the government focus on the present challenges of security, traffic gridlock, physical and social infrastructural development which had thrown up new challenges quite different from what the state was used to.
He explained his major focus to include security, transport and traffic management, physical and social infrastructural development and to enhance job creation.
The budget breakdown is: Recurrent Expenditure, N278.909 billion and Capital Expenditure at N383.678 billion.
Total revenue estimate for the 2016 fiscal year, according to Ambode, stands at N542.873 billion while the balance of N119.714 billion will be funded through deficit financing constituting 0.41 percent of the state GDP based on 2016 budget alone and a cumulative debt to GDP ratio of about three percent.
The House had promised an accelerated passage of the budget but with serious scrutiny of its content and propositions.
Prior to passing the budget, the House passed the bill for a law to amend the 2004 law that established the Lagos State University, LASU, into law.
Part of the amendment of the law is the recommendation of a five-year tenure for the Vice Chancellor and other principal officers of the school such as the Deputy Vice-Chancellors, Registrar, Bursar and the Librarian.
The House further passed into law the bill for the establishment of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund and for an agency to manage the fund.