Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has signed the N1.168 Trillion 2020 appropriation bill into law.
At the budget-signing event attended by members of the Executive Council and House of Assembly, Sanwo-Olu described the ratified expenditure as a “New Year present” to all residents of the State, saying his administration’s efforts to deliver a ’Greater Lagos’ had gained additional momentum.
He asked the State’s Executive Council to ensure full implementation of the budget to demonstrate their tenacity in achieving the Lagos dream.
“Now is the time for members of the State’s Executive Council who will be implementing this budget to demonstrate their tenacity to the vision of achieving Lagos of our dreams. We must display the conviction that we can do the job given to us by all residents of Lagos.
“With the speedy passage of the budget, the responsibilities cut out for us have gained additional momentum and the effort to achieve our development agenda has just started because this is the first budget this administration will be implementing in full cycle. We are hopeful that we would have improved the quality of life of residents at the end of the budget year.”
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Sanwo-Olu praised members of the Assembly for accelerated passage of the budget, saying the legislators, by their action, aligned themselves with the overall interest of residents.
“The happiness of the speedy passage of the budget is not for all of us in Government, but for all the 22 million Lagosians on whose behalf we act and take the decision to make the State habitable and developed.
“When we fix the road, when we make the drainage flow better, when we turn around the services of our hospitals for good, when we ensure Lagos becomes a choice destination for investments and tourism, when we fully implement the budget, we would have given the people the voice to express their happiness.”
The Speaker, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa hailed the Governor and his team for timely transmission of the budget to the House for legislative scrutiny.
The Speaker noted that the Assembly was thorough in the process of scrutinising the budget. He added that the House did not substantially cut down the expenses contained in the original document, because “the budget cuts across all sectors of the State’s economy.”
Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr. Sam Egube, observed that speedy passage of the budget was not without challenges and disagreements, but said the acceleration of the process indicated “cooperation and smooth working relationship” between the executive and the legislature.
