The Lagos state 2022 budget has scaled the second reading in the Lagos state house of assembly.
This was made known by the speaker of the Lagos state House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa on Tuesday when he committed the 2022 appropriation bill of the state to the joint committee on Finance and Economic Planning and Budget after deliberations by members.
It could be recalled that the state governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-olu had earlier presented a N1.3 trillion 2022 before the house of assembly.
However, as the lawmakers read the bill for a second time, the majority of them commended the governor for allocating 59 per cent of the proposed budget to capital expenditure with some saying it would further bring dividends of democracy to residents of the state.
Meanwhile, the Majority Leader of the House, Sanai Agunbiade, said the allocation to capital expenditure proposes that more hands would be engaged within the year as the government develops more infrastructure.
“If this budget is well funded and monitored properly, democratic dividends would be felt more,” he said.
In his contribution, Temitope Adewale urged that the revenue generation net of the state should be widened with a lesser emphasis on borrowing.
On his part, Fatai Mojeed urged that while considering the budget, there should be a consideration for the microeconomic indices of the State like its Gross Domestic Product.
He commended the governor for allocating 23 per cent of the budget to education but raised concerns over what he called an over-bloated personnel cost in the Ministry of Establishment.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Finance, Rotimi Olowo, noted that some of the MDAs performed woefully in 2021 adding that there was a need for some of the revenue-generating institutions of the government to be rejigged.
He also advised that the administration create vocational centres for the youth while advising against excessive borrowing.
Speaking on the budget, the Chairman of the Committee on Economic Planning and Budget, Gbolahan Yishawu, suggested that the House approves only what is feasible and that if the state needs more, it could make recourse to the Assembly.
Conclusively, the sitting passed the bills to also amend the Lagos State pension reforms law and that which amends the public office holders (payment of pensions) law.
