Lagos State House of Assembly on Monday, July 6, 2020 passed the Year 2020 appropriation (amendment) Bill of ₦920,468,589,337bn for the State. The House passed the re-ordering from Consolidated State Revenue, CSR during the Committee of Supply after adopting the report by the Joint Committees on Economic Planning and Budget, and Finance.

Following the request by the executive, the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa has directed the House joint Committees on Budget & Economic Planning and Finance to re-order the budget of the state for the year 2020 from N1.68 Trillion to N920.5 Billion.  

The Lagos State Government had recently disclosed plans to reorder the 2020 N1.168tn budget following current economic challenges as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.

The Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr Sam Egube; and Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, had disclosed this during an inter-ministerial press briefing in Alausa, Ikeja.     Egube said that the reordering became necessary in view of the slump in world oil price as well as the reduction in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR)of the state.

He said, “We are working assiduously, to review the budget to refocus, reorder and take into consideration the current challenges. We need to do this to give us the best chance of stimulating the economy and ensuring that the post-COVID-19 response economy will be strong, and enduring.

Speaking during the Committee of Supply on Monday, the Chairman, House Committee on Economic Planning and Budget, Hon Gbolahan Yishawu, noted that the approval of the House for re-ordering of priorities under the Year 2020 Appropriation contained 120 findings and 120 amendments as recommended by the Joint Committees and approved by the House through a voice vote conducted by the Speaker.

According to him, the approval was necessitated by the unforeseen pandemic (COVID-19) which had adversely affected the internal revenue projections of the State and also crippled the economic activities on a global scale. Giving the breakdown of the re-ordering; Rt. Hon. Obasa indicated that the total budget size shrunk by ₦248.093Bn being 21% to ₦920.469Bn from ₦1.168Tn which made the proposed revised total, ₦920,468,589,337Bn.

With the passage, Recurrent Expenditure is, ₦411,608,499,249 and Capital Expenditure of ₦508,860,843,967 for the year ending 31st December 2020. He thereafter directed the Clerk of the House, Mr. Azeez Sanni to forward a clean copy of the approved Y2020 appropriation (amendment) Bill to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for his assent.