Lagos reduces 2020 budget from N1.17trn to N920bn

The Lagos State Government has reduced its 2020 budget from N1.17trn to N920bn.

The state Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr Sam Egube, on Thursday, said the review would reduce the budget by 21 per cent.

He said the aim of the downward review was to mitigate the economic and social headwinds caused by the coronavirus pandemic in the state.

The Lagos State House of Assembly had in December 2020 passed N1.169trn Appropriation Bill for the atate.

The budget contained N457bn recurrent expenditure and N711bn capital expenditure.

Egube said the first quarter of 2020 recorded a budget performance of 56 per cent (N163.2bn); which in absolute terms was higher than the 68 per cent (N148.3Bn) recorded for the same period in 2019.

The commissioner listed some of the factors that necessitated the review of the budget to include fall in crude oil prices, downward pressure of IGR, devaluation of the naira, reduced public and private investment, increased inflation, decline in demand for goods and services and reduction in manufacturing activities.

“To restart the economy, we are going to optimise the state’s budget for investments in jobs and priority sectors through job creation, economic stabilisation and fiscal consolidation.

“While to re-imagine the state economy, we will prepare the state to operate and thrive within the new reality with digitisation, business environment reforms, improved economy and diversification of revenue sources” he added.

He gave the proposed breakdown of the revised budget as follows; total budget size reduced by 21 per cent from N1,168.562bn to N920.469bn with the financing deficit increasing by 11 per cent from N97.533bn to N108.005bn.