Lagos Assembly approves reordering of 2024 budget

The Lagos State House of Assembly at a plenary on Thursday approved the reordering of the state’s Appropriation Law of 2024, that has a size of N2.27 trillion.

The House gave the approval after the Chairman, House Committee on Economic Planning and Budget, Mr Lukman Olumoh, presented the report and recommendations of the committee which were adopted as the resolution of the House.

The Speaker, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, explained that the reordering was sequel to a letter dated Aug. 9, 2024 and sent to the House by the Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the state.

Obasa said though the total budget size remained the same, the recurrent expenditure was reduced from N952.43 billion in the original budget to N935.38 billion.

The speaker added that while the capital expenditure was increased from N1.31 trillion to N1.33 trillion following the reordering.

“That a bill for a law to authorise the issuance and appropriation of N935.38 billion from the Consolidated Revenue Fund for Recurrent Expenditure and N1,33 trillion from the Development Fund for Capital Expenditure.

“Thereby totalling a revised budget size of N2.27 trillion for the year ending Dec. 31, 2024 be passed into law,” Obasa announced to his colleagues who unanimously voted in favour.

The speaker, thereafter, directed the Clerk of the House, Mr Olalekan Onafeko, to forward a clean copy of the bill to the governor for his assent.

Earlier, Olumoh had reminded the House that in the letter sent by Sanwo-Olu, the latter explained the rationale for the request to redistribute the budget included the need to boost the appropriation to some Ministries, Agencies and Parastatals.

Olumoh said the letter requesting the reordering had also emphasised the need to meet the state’s commitments to the residents through the budget.