Chief Executive Officer of BIC Consultancy Services, Dr. Boniface Chizea, has lauded the Lagos State government for presenting an N1.3 trillion 2022 budget, describing it as an unprecedented “people-oriented proposal,” with a huge capacity to turn around the fortunes of the state.
The financial expert hailed the allocation of over N823 billion to capital expenditure.
He said: “The fact that about 59 percent of the budget goes to capital expenditure, while 41 (N564 Billion) would be expended on recurrent expenditure at a period when even the Federal Government is doing about 30 percent on capital expenses is an electrifying development.
“The development is very interesting because it will promote employment and address other social needs. We are not saying that paying salaries is not important but allocating such a huge sum to capital expenditure like Works and Infrastructure, Transportation and Commerce and Industry will cascade down to the people and transform their standards of living.
“Once a state crosses 50 percent in your capital allocation, which not too many states are doing, such a state should be commended. Not many states have done so well in that regard. I can’t remember. The fact that a sizable percentage is given to education is also gratifying, though it is still below UNESCO’s 25 percent recommendation when compared to the fact that we do about five percent at the national level, it is not a bad one in the state.
“The fact that education and health are accorded their rightful places is gratifying because as they say, health is wealth. I am aware that such a budget will also include payment of salaries, but when the budget is tilted towards the people, it shows the government’s sensitivity to the needs of the people, especially now that we are coming out of the pandemic when a lot of people have fallen into the poverty bracket.”
