LAGOS STATE GOVERNMENT REFUNDS 145 FORMER SUBSCRIBERS OF EGAN HOUSING ESTATE
admin - Plans for 2025 budget
By Oyebola Owolabi
The Lagos State Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget Ope George has said the state is on course to meeting its revenue target for 2024 based on its half year revenue performance.
George, while speaking at the 2025 budget consultative forum for the Ikeja Division, said the state hopes to meet its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) target of N1,251 trillion and federal allocations of N596,629 billion.
The forum held across the state’s five ibile divisions of Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu, Lagos Island and Epe.
Providing updates on the implementation of the 2024 budget, the commissioner said the state generates over 76 per cent of its revenues independent of federal allocation, while contributing over 18 per cent to the country’s GDP.
He added: “The government provided 23 per cent of the year 2024 budget to its Economic Affairs Sector to cater for infrastructural renewal and development to modernise the city and support its growing population.
“The state also launched several initiatives and projects to improve the standard of living, build infrastructure, ensure food security, enhance ease of doing business and affordable public transportation, and improve energy supply.”
The ‘Budget Consultative Forum’ is an annual event where government functionaries meet with the people based on the incoming fiscal year to discuss developmental requests.
At the forum were traditional rulers, professional bodies, civil society groups, trade organisations, youths, Persons Living with Disabilities (PLWD), among others.
The Iyaloja of Ikeja Computer Village, Mrs. Abisola Azeez, who represented the Iyaloja-General of Nigeria, Mrs. Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, urged the government to ease the process of getting loans for traders.
According to her, traders want seamless loans so they can make their own money.
She said: “What we want the government to do for traders is simplify the process to get loans. People want money to do business so they can make their own money. Grants are good, but it cannot go round.
“The N25 billion budgeted for Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) is huge, but I can assure you that not more that N10 million will be assessed due to bureaucracy in government office.
“So the Iyaloja-General has initiated a project to register market men and women across Nigeria in a databank to make identification easy and assessing loans even easier. This then means that though they can run, they cannot hide.
“We also want the government to give us loans in clusters so people can get sureties easily as against the plenty paper work in government offices which can be frustrating.”
Oba of Odi-Olowo, Mushin Local Government Area, Sikirulahi Olamide, urged the government to fulfill promise made in the previous budget year or they may be forced to ignore future invites.
“The Lagos State government is trying but it’s not enough. The government needs to fulfill its electoral promises to us in this division. We need projects that will be local to us and employ our children too,” he said.
