LAHA Scrutinizes 2024 Budget, Scales Second Reading

By Akinwale Kasali

The Lagos State House of Assembly Lawmakers have stated their readiness to do a proper scrutiny on the 2024 Appropriation Bill Presented by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, said the House is committed to make sure the 2024 Appropriation Bill meets the yearnings of Lagosians, as their welfare is of utmost priority.

He 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.

This was as the N2.24 trillion budget scaled its second reading at a plenary presided over by the Speaker.

The budget has a Capital Expenditure of N1.224 trillion and a Recurrent Expenditure of N1.023 trillion and lawmakers, who spoke about it applauded Governor Sanwo-Olu for presenting an estimate that is workable if some parameters are considered.

Hon. Sa’ad Olumoh, Chairman of the Committee on Economic Planning, said the budget aims to address various issues resulting from the removal of subsidy and exchange rate. He added that the budget should be made to minimise waste.

Hon. Femi Saheed who heads the Finance Committee said with the budget, Lagos is moving away from relying on Federal Allocations while his colleague, Hon. Kehinde Joseph, said the budget should address situations where some agencies of government exist in rented buildings.

On his part, Hon. Sanni Okanlawon described the proposal as a developmental budget because it aims to address ongoing projects like the red and purple rail lines.

In his contribution, Deputy Majority Leader Adedamola Richard Kasunmu said “the budget can be self-sustaining and realistic if the right thing is done according to what the Speaker said during the budget presentation.”

He added that focus should be given to health and education.

Hon. Desmond Elliot called for an improvement in the budget for social protection so as to effectively reach the people while Hon. Nureni Akinsanya said applications for Certificates of Occupancy can be made lighter for the government to make more money.