Fashola Presents N445bn 2011 Budget to State Assembly

Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola has presented the 2011 budget proposal to the Lagos State House of Assembly. The total budget of N445.18bn which was presented this afternoon,   exceeded last year's revised   budget by 8.2 percent. A summary of the budget showed that recurrent expenditure would gulp N196.709bn,capital expenditure took N248.471bn, capital receipts took N19.261bn and total overhead cost took N128.480bn.   

Sectoral allocation provided in the budget includes : General public service, N112.608bn(25.3 percent),public order and safety, N12.763bn(2.9 percent), economic affairs N142.040bn (31.9 percent), environmental protection, N36.390bn (8.2percent), housing and community amenities, N26.761bn(6.0percent), health N39.888b (9.0percent),   education, N61.713bn(13.9percent), recreation,culture and religion N6.880bn(1.5percent) and social protection, N6.137bn(1.4percent).  

Presenting the budget, Fashola said that education, health, roads, water and rural development would always remain the focus of the budget, adding that it will also seek to promote cooperation with the local and Federal Government on road rehabilitation and power sector reforms.

His words: "This budget increase is valued against the recent published figures of about 13 percent, it will become manifest that the budget has not really increased. We have revised the capital to recurrent ratio of 60:40 in 2010 to 56:44 in 2011. The shift towards recurrent expenditure is due to the significant growth in our personnel cost.

We are also determined to ensure that education,roads,health,and other aspects of development will be the focus of our budget."

The Speaker of the House, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, who said the House would urgently look into the budget added that the lawmakers would not only look at figures,but "how the budget can improve the lives of the people. We acknowledge that this is the last budget that will be received by the 6th legislative house and the last in the life of this current administration."

Continuing, he said: "The cause of the protracted strike in the health and education sector in the state and the accreditation of some of the courses in our institution should be addressed without delay.

"However, I want to assure the state of the timely treatment of this year's budget."