Our finances stable, positive despite economic lull - Lagos commissioner

Lagos State has reinforced its revenue base, despite the state government’s financial commitment to various capital projects and partnerships aimed at improving socio-economic development.

The current administration over the last two years has also enhanced revenue collection and blocked leakages through which the state accrued losses in the past.

These were disclosed by Rabiu Olowo, Lagos State commissioner for finance, who briefed newsmen on Thursday as part of activities to mark the second year in office of the Governor Babajide Sanwo-olu’s administration, on May 29.

Olowo explained how the administration has weathered the storm in managing its finances and raising its internally generated revenue (IGR) level, pointing to prudence and discipline in procurement and expenditure. He stressed that the current administration’s simplification of the procurement process has not only restored confidence and accountability in the state’s finances, but also improved

Lagos’ good rating in revenue management.

“The beginning of this government was a very turbulent time in terms of expenditures and project delivery. Since we said we would not give excuses, we came up with four strategies to shore up the state’s finances in order to meet our goals. We tasked the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAS) and checked where we needed improvement in terms of revenue optimisation and where we needed reduction of revenue leakages.

“We set weekly and monthly reviews of the processes set in motion and this really helped us to achieve success in the last two years. The financial report card for Lagos by the end of 2020 was absolutely impressive. We ended the year with 88 percent revenue performance Statewide, and in terms of taxable revenue service we closed the year with 101 percent. This success is not unconnected with the initiative we set out.”

Olowo explained how the government engaged a consortium of forensic audit firms in 2019 to carry out a back-duty audit on excessive bank charges, leading to the recovery of over N1.2 billion.