Our Huge Debt Profile Justifiable — LASG

Kazeem Ugbodaga

The Lagos State Government has justified its huge debt profile, saying it is sustainable as government has continued to spend the money on infrastructure for the benefit of Lagos residents.

Commissioner for Finance, Ayo Gbeleyi said this at a 3-day retreat organised for Accountants in the state’s public service held at the Orchid Hotel, Lekki area of Lagos, southwest Nigeria.

The theme of the retreat is Transparency and Accountability: Challenges and Way Forward.

According to Gbeleyi, there was no way he could end his address at the retreat without touching on the current topical and politically induced issue of the debt position of the state, particularly as it related to its sustainability.

“Our state has continued to demonstrate a high level of fiscal prudence in its aggressive drive for infrastructure renewal and development across the state. In funding the huge capital expenditure spending (which averaged N235 billion annually over the last five years),  the state has to augment its net recurrent surplus (excess of ordinary revenue over recurrent expenditure) with some borrowings to keep up with the pace of developmental needs to  bridge the gap in those critical areas of infrastructure, and social amenities,” he said.

“This is further made more imperative in our collective strive towards realising the administration’s vision of making Lagos Africa’s model mega city that is safe, secure, productive and functional leveraging its policy thrust of poverty eradication and economic growth through infrastructure renewal and development,” he added.

The commissioner said Lagos State had become a massive construction zone and the cynosure of all eyes in Nigeria and the West African sub-region at large given the massive and cross sectoral infrastructure projects currently underway.

Such projects, he said, included the modernisation and upgrade of the 60km Lagos-Badagry Expressway from four Lanes to 10 Lanes; the 27km Blue Line Light Rail System, the IPP scheme; Lekki Free Zone Development, Lekki Epe International Airport, Lekki Deep Sea Port, Various Regional Cities Development, among others.