Lagos is Maintaining High Financial Prudence

Anayo Okolie

Lagos State Commissioner for Finance, Ayo Gbeleyi, has said the state government has continued to demonstrate a high level of fiscal prudence in its aggressive drive for infrastructure and urban renewal projects, making the state to be financially independent in spite of the imperfections in the fiscal federalism as is currently being practised in Nigeria.

The Commissioner, who stated this at the 2014 Accountants' retreat, noted that the need to build a new Lagos that would meet its status as the economic hub of Africa placed enormous responsibilities on the state government to be proactive and double its efforts at urban renewal and infrastructure development, adding that the state had, in the last 7 years, become a massive construction zone and the cynosure of all eyes in Nigeria and the West African region for various development projects  embarked upon in  the state.

According to him, some of the projects with excellent financial management embarked upon by the state government included the 60km Lagos/Badagry Express Way from 4 lanes to 10, The 27 km Blue line LMRT, the 70 MGD Adiyan water scheme,, 16,500 Ha Lekki Free Zone Development, Lekki Epe International Airport, Lekki Deep Sea Port among several others.

The commissioner however, averred that the state government has been meticulous and exceedingly prudent in financial applications by adhering strictly to internationally acceptable thresholds in its debt sustainability in all key parameters, using both the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the Guidelines of FGN – DMO as well as the country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA) benchmarks of the World Bank for developing economies.

Culled from www.thisdaylive.com