Fashola signs N489.69bn budget into law

Lagos State Gover­nor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, yesterday signed the 2015 bud­get of N489.69 billion into law.

The event took place at the State House, Marina in Lagos. This is the first time the gov­ernor will sign the budget into law outside the office and in an unofficial period.

Speaking on the occasion, Fashola said he had to fast-forward the event originally slated for Monday to enable him attend a national meeting fixed for tomorrow in Abuja by the All Progressives Con­gress, APC, so that Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) could continue with their work while he is in Abuja.
He said: “We are a govern­ment that is open to plan. Part of the planning is for govern­ment to set the budget for the beginning of the year. Lagos is the second state to sign the doc­ument after Ogun State, which is also an APC State.
“When we presented the budget, there were financial challenges but as you know, our revenue has been based largely on our common con­tribution. That is how we build our common wealth here.
“We need to be innovative, inventive and hard-working and that is what we have given in the last eight years and we won’t give anything less with the support of the people of Lagos. They are owners of this government and all of its ser­vice delivery programmes, and I think as difficult and challeng­ing as the revenue issue may be, we will consolidate and fin­ish as many possible projects as we can.”
Commissioner for Eco­nomic Planning and Budget, Ben Akabueze, said the oil fall in the international market had been factored into the budget and hoped that the price would rise as the year progressed.
He, however, noted that over 70 percent of the state’s budget was sourced through Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) be­cause the oil fall would not af­fect the budget sharply.
The budget size of N489.69 billion is the same as that of 2014, but with a slight differ­ence in the Capital to Recurrent ratio. In 2014, the Capital to Recurrent ratio stood at 52:48. The 2015 budget proposal has a Capital to Recurrent ratio of 51:49.