Lagos State governor signs 2012 budget

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN (left) signing the Year 2012 Budget into Law.

Lagos State governor signs 2012 budget
Qasim Akinreti, Lagos

The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has signed the State’s 2012 Budget into law.

Signing the N491.941 billion appropriation bill into law, governor Fashola called for voluntary payments of taxes to provide Government the essential tool to successfully execute the budget for the benefit of the people.

He solicited for peaceful coexistence in the state for the smooth implementation of the budget while pledging the readiness and commitment of his administration to implement the appropriation for meaningful impact.

According to him, “this Budget will not work in an environment of chaos and insecurity and, therefore, we all owe a collective duty to continue to live in peaceful coexistence, religious tolerance, multi-ethnic tolerance and it is only in that environment that we can really get down to the work that we need to do to deliver on services”.

Governor Fashola, however, said that as much as government has demonstrated its readiness to implement the budget successfully, the people also have a responsibility to support the Government in order to make it succeed.

In his words, “Let me seize this opportunity to also say that as much as Government has demonstrated its readiness to work the Budget, there is also a corresponding leadership responsibility on all the citizens in the State and that includes first the obligation to keep the peace”.

Most challenging year

The governor acknowledging that year 2012 will to all intent and purpose, be a most challenging year, as he has to deliver on the completion of notable infrastructure such as the 10 lane expressway, light rail project and completion of people oriented projects dotted across the state said “I am certain that the challenges are all meant to be overcome by men and women who are dedicated to a common cause to create opportunities out of challenges and that is the kind of Government you will find in Lagos State; and that is the kind of commitment we have made at our Executive Council meeting that all hands must be on board to make our stay here very worthwhile for the people of Lagos”.

Other target areas

According to him, some of the components of the budget include increased expenditure on Education, “especially tertiary education with LASU”, scholarships for indigent students who want to access the State’s Education system, Youth and Women Empowerment for greater economic development and component in support of social Housing Scheme which Government intends to work on during the year as well as component for the construction and provision of a lot of our inner city roads to ease transportation bottlenecks and make life much more bearable for our people”.

The N485.292 billion Appropriation Bill which was presented to the State House of Assembly on November 14, 2011, by the State Governor, was represented to the Governor for his assent with an increase of N6.65 billion as the House jacked up the Budget to N491.941 billion.

Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the House Committee on Economic Planning and Budget, Honourable Mudashiru Obasa said the total size of the 2012 Appropriation law passed by the House is N491, 941 billion made up of N233, 620 Billion as the Recurrent Expenditure and N258,321 billion as Capital Expenditure.
The Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr. Ben Akabueze, said tat the quick passage and immediate signing into law of the 2012 Appropriation Law on the first working day of the year 2012 signposts the seriousness of the administration and the readiness of government to implement the budget.

A detailed breakdown of the 2012 budget estimates will be given by the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget on Thursday.

Cokey