The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon, Mudashiru Obasa, has committed the 2024 Appropriation Bill to a joint committee of the House for proper scrutiny.
The State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu had on last Wednesday presented a historic Year 2024 Budget of N2.246, 234 trillion to members of the State House of Assembly.
In the budget, the Capital Expenditure is a total figure of N1.224 and recurrent expenditure of N1.021 trillion.
The recurrent expenditure stands at N1.021,954trn (45%) while capital expenditure represents N1.224,280 (55%).
At the Plenary monitored by our Correspondent on Monday, Obasa urged the joint-committee on Economic Planning and Finance to ensure it works hard enough to produce a well-scrutinised budget in three weeks for the benefit of the people of Lagos State.
While commending Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for presenting a workable budget, Chairman House Committee on Budget and Appropriation, Hon. Sa’ad Olumoh, said the budget should be critically looked into in terms of content and context.
“The budget should be carefully looked into to minimise waste, so as to bring out the best of it,” he said.
On his part, Hon. Femi Saheed said the budget came at a time when inflation continues to skyrocket, and the exchange rate is high.
“All leakages must be blocked,” he said while highlighting some sectors that should be focused on.
In his remarks, Hon. Kehinde Joseph, who also expressed his view, explained that there was need to look into the dedicated revenue just as he objected to the idea of tax increment.
In his submission, Hon Suraju Tijani said that the budget is realistic and will be a performing and functional one. “The budget should also focus on the agricultural sector,” he said.
Hon. Stephen Ogundipe and others who contributed reiterated the need for the budget to focus on security, water transportation, health, education and infrastructure.
The House adjourned indefinitely.