At a plenary session led by Speaker Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa on Friday, the Lagos State House of Assembly approved the State’s 2024 budget in the amount of N2,267,976,120,869.
All of the legislators in attendance cast voice votes in favour of the budget, which represents 42% recurring spending and 58% capital expenditure.
The Speaker had raised, during the third reading of the budget report, “A bill for a law to authorise the issuance and appropriation of N952,430,566,998 from the Consolidated Revenue Fund for Recurrent Expenditure and N1,315,545,553,871 from Development Fund for Capital Expenditure, thereby totaling a budget size of N2,267,976,120,869 for the year ending 31st December, 2024 be passed into law.”
Dr. Obasa then directed Barr. Olalekan Onafeko, the Clerk of the House, to send a copy of the approved budget to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for assent, while praising the legislators for their commitment and collaboration in securing a swift approval of the appropriations bill.
The joint-committee on budget and finance chairman, Hon. Sa’ad Olumoh, gave the House a report with several recommendations prior to it being passed.
One of the suggestions is to put the state-owned tertiary institutions, the Public Works Corporation, and the Water Corporation under first-line charge so they can operate at peak efficiency.
On December 13, 2023, Governor Sanwo-Olu gave the House of Assembly a budget proposal for 2024 that was estimated to be N2.246 trillion. The governor stated that the state expected N1.251 trillion in internal revenue and N596.629 billion in federal government funding.
Remember that Obasa urged the government to guarantee a viable budget during the governor’s budget presentation?
Applying the appropriate indices is crucial if we are to ensure a working budget that will help our people escape poverty and realign the state’s infrastructure towards expansion and revitalization.
“Palliative care should go beyond simply providing garri, rice, beans, or even cash to individuals.” Our path ought to be clear, powerful, and well supported by the implementation of sensible policies.
For example, let pharmaceuticals be provided at discounted rates to all public hospitals in the state in the name of palliative care. During the budget presentation, the Speaker stated that the focus should be on a downward revision of treatment costs in these facilities.