The Lagos State Government plans to spend 6.6% of its total capital expenditure on education and technology in its 2020 budget.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu disclosed this while presenting the N1.168 trillion budget before the Lagos State House of Assembly on Friday.
He told members of the executive and the parliament present at the house chambers in Ikeja that the budget was a reflection of a series of consultations and feedback from stakeholders across senatorial districts in the state.
A breakdown of the budget tagged “Awakening to a Greater Lagos” has 62 per cent, representing N723.75 billion of total spending for capital expenditure and 38 per cent, representing N444.81 billion for recurrent expenditure.
The governor was not however specific about the amount devoted to recurrent expenditure for education.
EduCeleb.com understands that as against the N30.05 billion budgeted of its capital allocation on education in 2019, the state government plans to spend N48 billion in 2020.
Although the governor in his speech claimed the increase was by 60%, our findings show that it was by 37.4%.
This marginal increase altogether may not be unconnected to plans by the government to renovate up to 60 public schools while improving on other school infrastructure.
The governor assured residents of transparency and accountability in the implementation of the budget, pointing out that there would be strict performance mechanism to drive compliance and measure the progress of the budget at the execution stage.
“The 2020 Budget will be supported by a Performance Management System that will ensure that, by December 2020, we shall achieve an optimal budget implementation when compared with previous years,” he said.
”This is in line with our commitment to transparency and accountability in the management of public finances.
“We have provided N11.8 billion as counterpart funds in preparation for various social impact schemes. In addition, we have made provisions for N7.1 billion this year, to provide for industrial hubs, parks, graduate internship programs and virtual markets for artisans. This is in support for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) which are the engines for both economic and employment growth.”
In his response, Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa commended the governor while promising a speedy passage of the budget.
