Press Releases

100 Percent Budget Performance Remains My Target For 2008 - Fashola

Jul 11, 2008 - Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) on Friday stated that a 100 percent budget performance remains his target for the 2008 fiscal year.

Governor Fashola who spoke while addressing newsmen at the end of the second quarter review meeting of the budget of Great Leap 2008 held at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium added that he is not satisfied with the performance which is an improvement from the first quarter.

Said he:” The revenues are not where we expect them to be, but there is generally an improvement form the first quarter. The important thing is that we are doing this budget reviews and its telling us where we need to strengthen up, where we are not doing well and where we need not drop”.

He reiterated that the present administration is running the government as a large public corporation that is nimble and very efficient.

Also speaking, Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr. Ben Akabueze acknowledged that Lagosians are beginning to respond to the government tax drive initiative as the trend is positive.

While admitting that there is room for improvement, Mr. Akabueze said not only does the payment of taxes by the citizenry enhance the government’s capacity to perform but also give the people the moral right to question the government and hold it accountable for performance.

He said the State Government on its part has held itself out to be accountable to the people as demonstrated by the recent publication of telephone and contact numbers of all cabinet members in the media.

Mr. Akabueze added that the Governor of Lagos State believes that there exists a social contract between the people and the government and that government on its part must deliver service to the people to improve life.

The Commissioner explained that the citizens are also expected to meet their obligation to the State by paying their taxes, being good citizens and be law abiding generally.

Mr. Akabueze reiterated that if Governor Fashola has expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of the budget in the second quarter, it is only a reflection of the fact that the Governor is never satisfied with half measures until he gets 100 percent performance.

The Commissioner added that this does not translate to an assertion that the agencies are not performing, but believes that everyone needs to work harder to achieve the best results for the people of Lagos.