2025 budget: Lagos lawmakers raise concern over deficit funding

Gov Sanwo-Olu and Speaker Obasa

THE Lagos State House of Assembly, has raised concerns over the deficit funding model in the 2025 appropriation bill of N3.005 trillion presented to the lawmakers by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for approval.

The Speaker of the Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, who presided over the plenary, subsequently, committed the bill to a joint committee on appropriation and finance for review with a mandate to report back in one month.

Earlier, Chairman of the House Committee on Budget and Economic Planning, Sa’ad Olumoh, who raised concerns over the projection of N408 billion deficits financing in the budget, noted that loans are good when used for the actual purposes.

He said: “We have to be cautious about it. We need to have a sustainable and pragmatic way of financing our budget so that we don’t rely solely on loans.

“So, I would suggest that we look at a realistic budget and ways to finance it using alternatives like the Public Private Partnership, PPP, models.

“I also want to urge my colleagues that for the purpose of the 2025 budget, we need to properly scrutinize it to prevent wastage.”

Also, the Deputy Majority Leader, Adedamola Kasumu called for a careful review of the budget to enable comparative analysis and feasibility.

In his comments, Mr Gbolahan Yishawu, representing, Eti-Osa 2, noted the absence of allocations for electricity infrastructure and climate change initiatives while suggesting a five-year retrospective analysis of deficit funding.

On his part, Desmond Elliot, highlighted the omission of food security measures in the proposal and called for inclusion of the initiatives to meet citizens’ needs.