Fashola presents N489bn 2015 spending plan

The completion of some ongoing infrastructural projects, especially inner city roads, and payment of outstanding pension liabilities will draw substantially from the Lagos State budget proposal of N489.690 billion for 2015 fiscal year.

Unfortunately, however, the Lagos-Badagry Expressway expansion, along with the blue-line rail system, seen by close watchers of developments in the state, as among the most ambitious projects of the Governor Babatunde Fashola’s administration, are not likely to be completed by this government which has less than six months to wrap up.

Governor Fashola, who presented the budget to the state House of Assembly on Monday, said his administration would not want to pass the huge pension liabilities imposed on the state by the Federal Government to the next administration.

Fashola’s full tenure of eight years (2007-2011 and 2011-2015) terminates on May 29, 2015, the same day a new government will be sworn in.

“Without consultation with the states, the Federal Government had reviewed pensioners’ entitlements upwards by 142% without a corresponding 142% upward review of states’ revenues.

“While I remain convinced that the Federal Government which receives 52% of national revenues and leaves the 36 states and 774 local governments to share 26% and 20% of national revenues has no legal basis to impose financial obligations on states and local governments, our government’s compassion for the plight of these pensioners has weighed more heavily on our minds, than the legal malfeasance of the Federal Government. Our government has therefore committed to pay, and now budgets for the 142% arrears, in addition to 12% and 6% recent reviews,” said Fashola.

The 2015 budget size which equates the 2014 budget, has the capital to recurrent ratio of 51:49 percent. The breakdown and sectoral allocations are as follows: general public service, N107.690 billion (22%); public order & safety, N15.547 billion (3.2%); economic affairs, N146.306 billion (29.9%); environmental protection, N34.953 billion (7.1%); housing & community amenities N49.033 billion (10%); health, N44.617 (9.1%); recreation, culture & religion, N3.118 billion (0.6%);education, N82.114 billion (16.8%); social protection, N1.589 billion (0.3%); planning reserve N2.260 (0.5%) and contingency N2.448 billion (0.5%).

Fashola said his government chose to retain the budget size of the current year for 2015 for a number of reasons, which, according to him include the need to keep a zero deficit in order to ensure that the next administration does not inherit a deficit.

“This will give them room to start off very quickly when their programmes begin to crystallise and they may need to raise funds in order to start off. Another reason is that our budgets, like all good budgets are not only defined by plans and expectations, they make more sense if they are defined by resources.

“Our resources have been severely adversely affected by the management and lack of transparency of the Federal Government and her agencies of the nation’s oil proceeds”, said the governor.