LAGOS State governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola, on Monday, presented to the state House of Assembly, a budget estimate of N489.690 billion for the 2015 fiscal year for consideration.
The governor, while giving the breakdown at a special plenary presided over by the speaker, Honourable Adeyemi Sabit Ikuforiji, said the 2015 budget proposal maintained the same size as 2014’s, due to shortfall in Federal Government’s allocations, among others.
According to Fashola, who said he was presenting his last budget proposal, which he would not be implementing fully, as his administration comes to an end in the next few months, said 51 per cent of the budget is for capital expenditure, while 49 per cent is for recurrent.
Fashola said a total sum of N107.690 (22.0 per cent) would be spent on general public service; N15.547 (3.2 per cent) on public order and safety; N146.306 (29.9 per cent) on economic affairs; N34.953 (7.1 per cent) on environmental protection; N49.033 (10.0 per cent) on housing and community amenities and N44.617 (9.1 per cent) on health.
Others, the governor said are: culture and religion N3.118 (0.6 per cent); education, N82.114 (16.8 per cent); social protection N1.589 (0.3 per cent); planning reserve, N2.260 (0.5 per cent); contingency N2.448 (0.5 per cent).
Governor Fashola said other reasons the 2015 proposal had maintained the same size as that of 2014, included the need to keep a zero deficit, in order to ensure that the next government did not inherit a deficit, even as he explained that the budget was equally defined by plans and expectations, as well as the resources available.
“This will give them room to start off very quickly when their programmes begin to crystallize and they may need to raise funds in order to start off.
“Another reason is that our budgets, like all good budgets are not only defined by plans and expectations, they make more sense if they are defined by resources,” Fashola added.
According to the governor, “Our resources have been severely adversely affected by the management and lack of transparency of the Federal Government and her agencies of the nation’s oil proceeds.
“The Federal Government is still owing Lagos State Government N51Billion certified and unpaid, out of N59Billion expended on Federal Government roads in Lagos. They are also owing pension obligations of N673,673,355.25, which they have not paid.
“And as all of us are aware, oil prices have dropped from $100 per barrel and above to just around $80 per barrel at the time we finalised the budget. Our monthly receipts from FAAC have fallen below our usually conservative expectations for the first time in seven years.
“And lately, we are noticing that reduced patronage of the tourism and entertainment facilities has occurred in the aftermath of the Ebola outbreak. This has translated to reduced consumption and consequently reduced incomes in the Consumption Tax sub-head of our Internally Generated Revenue. Because we will not implement this budget fully by ourselves, we have thought it fit to moderate expectations in order to avoid disappointments,” Fashola said
