Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said the state will need a budget of at least N7 trillion in the 2024 fiscal year to meet up with infrastructural and basic amenities but plans to present over N2 trillion to the state House of Assembly soon for passage.
This was just as the governor reiterated his readiness to ensure ease of doing business in the state despite current global business challenges, stressing that his administration could not continue to give excuses.
Governor Sanwo-Olu, in company with the Deputy Governor, Dr Kadir Obafemi Hamzat, made this disclosure on Friday while speaking at the 8th Lagos Corporate Assembly, a business forum tagged “Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, BOS Meets with Business Community,” held at Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja.
The participants at the forum include captains of industries such as: Chairman of Channels Television, John Momoh; Managing Director, Lekki Concession Company, Yomi Omomuwasan; Chairman, Silverbird Television, Ben Murray-Bruce; representatives of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN); heads of agencies and parastatals; and heads of foreign missions.
Others are members of the State Executive Council, bankers, business leaders, business membership organisations, micro, small, and medium entrepreneurs (MSMEs), and all other important stakeholders, among others.
The governor assured that, notwithstanding the global business uncertainty, his administration was resolved to work to achieve its set goals based on promises made to the people during the campaign period.
“The demands from the report gathered from Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) show that if we have the resources, at least N7 trillion will be needed for the 2024 budget to meet the state’s infrastructural challenges and other basic amenities.
“Though we are proposing over N2 trillion in budget size for the year 2024 to be presented to the state House of Assembly soon, we are having a demand of N7 trillion. Our revenue is far from it.
“That’s one of the challenges we are having presently. We want to fix roads and do it right.
“We need to scale up with modern technology and put in place enduring policies. We didn’t anticipate the current inflationary rate. Our focus is on how to meet the demands of our people in a speculative market.
“We are where we are today, and if we don’t get it right here, it will have dire consequences for our country. We can have a handshake with the federal government. Mr. President, in recent times, has embarked on trips abroad to canvass for investors to open up Nigeria’s economy as part of the Renewed Hope Agenda,” the governor stated.
“We can’t give excuses; we need to work together.
“We are running against time. I have a political timeline I am working with. We can’t afford to fail.
“We will need to work together and identify the way forward. We should be able to solve some of our challenges through your ideas and submissions.
“We must let the MSMEs breathe for a sustainable economy through friendly policies,” he added.
The Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade, and Investment, Mrs. Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, earlier in her remark, noted that the corporate assembly had undoubtedly been a very important public-private sector engagement platform, through which the state government and the business community interacted and discussed issues that were crucial to the state’s industrial and commercial growth.
She said that all issues raised in the last edition had been adequately addressed by various MDAs relevant to improving the business environment in the state, noting that the T.H.E.M.E.S. Plus Development Agenda was conceived as a comprehensive strategic document to guide Sanwo-Olu’s administration in the areas of policy formulation, among others.
“The T.H.E.M.E.S. Plus Development Agenda was conceived as a comprehensive strategic document to guide Sanwo-Olu’s administration in the areas of policy formulation, development, implementation, and evaluation against set parameters to aggressively transform the state into a modern economy and meet the yearning and aspirations of all stakeholders, including the business community.
“As a responsive and responsible government, we recognise that ensuring ease of doing business is key to the state’s economic growth and development.
“This is why the administration, through the implementation of various reforms, prioritised the provision of a friendly environment that would support existing businesses while attracting more foreign direct investment (FDI) into the state,” she said.
According to the commissioner, the outcome of the reforms includes, among others, an improvement in the time of issuance of planning permits, which she said had been reduced to 10 days for players in the built sector.
She said this had been achieved following a series of innovations introduced by this administration to make the process seamless, attractive, and friendly.
On the transportation sector, Ambrose-Medebem said Sanwo-Olu’s administration recorded a milestone achievement with the inauguration of the much anticipated first phase of the 27-kilometer Lagos Blue Light Rail, pointing out that the 13-kilometer project from Mile 2 to Marina, stretching across five stations, had brought considerable relief to commuters, “reduced stress and public health challenges associated with public transportation, saved productive man-hour loss in traffic, and is fast-tracking movement of goods and labour, particularly to the business districts of Lagos Island and Victoria Island.”
“There are various other interventions the administration has made since the last Assembly.
“To consolidate on what has been done, the state government will continue to use platforms such as this Corporate Assembly to sustain the engagement and fire up the conversation that would ensure that the state remains focused in its strong determination to move up the ladder on the global Ease of Doing Business index and progresses steadily towards inclusive growth that would benefit the investors and the residents.
“Indeed, whatever prominence Lagos State is laying claim to today would not have been possible without the contributions of the organised private sector in the state.
“This is why the administration will continue to deepen collaboration with OPS stakeholders, not only to sustain the existing level of growth but also to accelerate the momentum of the state’s development,” she assured.
“We shall also continue to collaborate with indigenous and foreign bilateral and multilateral Chambers of Commerce and Industry towards reinforcing their confidence and belief in the fact that Lagos State is ready and open for business,” she added.
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