BEING THE Y2011 BUDGET PRESENTATION OF HIS EXCELLENCY, THE GOVERNOR OF LAGOS STATE, MR. BABATUNDE RAJI FASHOLA (SAN), DELIVERED AT THE CHAMBERS OF THE LAGOS STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY, ALAUSA ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2010


Honourable Speaker, distinguished members of the Lagos State House of Assembly, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, another full year has rolled by and in preparation for our service delivery commitment to our people, I am obliged to lay before this esteemed House the Budget proposals for year 2011 which is the fourth full budget of this administration.

Every one of those previous budgets were prepared and implemented in line with the Ten Point Agenda evolved by the immediate past administration and the manifesto of our Party, the Action Congress of Nigeria.

We outlined certain key goals and strategies that we intended to deploy as the critical vehicles to drive the Budget. These include aggressive revenue generation, completion of on-going infrastructure projects, maintenance of existing infrastructural facilities and public utilities, human capital and infrastructural development in the State’s Civil Service, mitigation of global warming through greening, beautification programme and other initiatives, Teachers’ Welfare enhancement, enhancement of community-based Vocational Education, sustenance/empowerment of farmers/fishermen for food production and processing, expansion/construction of new water schemes and sustenance of the State’s Free Healthcare Services.

As has been the tradition of this administration from the beginning, we have given account of the progress and challenges of policies and programmes, every 100 Days since then, explaining to our citizens how we have methodically pursued these goals and how much success we have recorded in all the sectors of our economy.

From November 17, 2009 when I presented the Year 2010 Budget thattill date, we have presented ourselves to the people on three occasions, adopting different strategies in our presentation, to account to them what we have been able to accomplish and to seek their suggestions and input in all sectors.

On the occasion of reporting during our 1,000 Days event, we met the State’s Public Servants to whom we dedicated the occasion. We told them that although we still have a lot of work to do, the result of our collective efforts have begun to bear visible fruits for all to see. That assertion was based on the major milestones which we have accomplished within that period in virtually all the sectors of the economy.

For instance, to fast-track our Micro-Finance Scheme which we have adopted to promote sustainable economic growth as a strategy to deal with poverty which abounds globally, on November 23, 2009, our administration handed out cheques totaling N175 million representing 50 percent counterpart fund to eight Micro-finance banks for the operation of the State’s Micro-Finance Scheme.

And in pursuance of our avowed determination not only to keep the State free from filth but to also turn the thousands of tonnes of waste generated daily in the State to wealth and opportunity for job creation, we signed a Memorandum of understanding with the Clinton Foundation and the Konsadem Consortium to develop the firstmodel integrated Solid Waste Management System in our country.

On February2, 2010 we commissioned and handed over the refurbished City Hall in Central Lagos and on February 4, 2010, we handed over 256 units of twin two and one bedroom flats in Igbogbo, a 100-bed Maternal and Childcare Centre (MCC), a Shopping Complex and a Drivers’ Institute all in Ikorodu Local Government Area of the State.

Five days later, we were at Isolo where we commissioned and handed over another100-bed capacity Maternal and Childcare Centre in Isolo and two million gallons per day Mini-Waterworks at Isheri-Osun.

We also inspected and took delivery of the first batch of the total 166, 629 desks and chairs which we have started supplying to public primary and secondary schools in the State towards the fulfillment of our commitment to ensure optimum comfort for our children in their schools.

The 1, 100 Days public account event was dedicated to the foreign diplomatic missions in the State.

The truth is that these diplomats must inevitably resort to the sub-national governments such as ours if they must get anything done for their nationals, corporations and staff in diverse areas. This makes them part of our local community which would be affected by our actions or inactions.

This occasion enabled us to account for our activities for the period between February 22 and June 2, 2010.

On March 15, 2010, during that period, we handed over to the State’s Fire Service, a series of new firefighting equipment consisting of two new aerial ladder platform fire trucks, one foam fire truck, five rapid response utility fire fighting vehicles and eight 10, 000 liter water tankers.

The following day, Tuesday, March 16, we were at the LTV 8 Blue Roof Multi-purpose Hall to commission the Eko Secondary Education Project. This project has the multiple objectives of improving the quality of Junior and Senior Secondary Education in the State, improving grants to educational institutions, supporting technical and vocational education as well as sustaining institutional reforms.

I am happy to report that from the supervision Mission Report of the World Bank forwarded to me a few days ago, the project implementation performance is rated as “highly satisfactory” in the words of the World Bank.

On Thursday March 18, at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, we announced the plan to empower 22, 000 allottees of Government Housing estates spread across the State by issuing them with their title deeds to enable them have for the first time acceptable documentation to their properties that can be used as collateral to support their families and businesses if they wish.

These were allottees who had acquired properties from Government before 31st December 1999.

I am able to report that 15,000 title documents are now ready for distribution in a process that will be notified to the public shortly. The process of converting dead assets to valuable working and life changing assets has thus taken off successfully.

We launched the N50 billion second tranche of our Fixed Rate Bond under our N275 billion Debt Issuance Programme on Monday, March 23.

Itwas first launched in 2008. It has a life span of seven years from, 2010 to 2017; while the first one has a life span of five years (2008 – 2013).It represented a strong demonstration of domestic investors’ confidence in the opportunities that lie in our economy.

Again on Monday, March 29 we commissioned the 1.5 kilometre upgraded Dr Nurudeen Olowopopo Avenue in Alausa while on April 28, the first phase of the New Oluwole Urban Market in Central Lagos was commissioned.

It was also during this period that Lagos hosted a very important international event which further brought her to global attention as a potential tourism destination of the world.

The third Black Heritage Festival, which was celebrated alongside the Lagos Carnival was perhaps the most colourful celebration of the rich and limitless resources of the Black Race.

For about a week, the streets of Lagos were adorned by colourful and resplendent youths dressed in locally made costumes who marched along marked routes displaying the rich cultures of our people in dances, drama and songs.

On May 13, we commissioned a 20-Bed Accident and Emergency Centre at the Lagos end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway help save lives of victims of road traffic accidents and other forms of trauma.

On Tuesday, May 25, 2010, we commissioned and handed over eight major roads and yet another 2 million gallon capacity Water Works to the Abule-Egba/Ekoro/Agbelekale and Ifako-Ijaiye communities.

We were at Badagry and Ojo on May 30 where we commissioned and handed over to the local communities a total of 11 projects comprising three major roads – Joseph Dosu, Old Cemetery and Market Roads streets and a Driver’s Institute in Badagry Town, a Micro- Water Scheme in Apa, a water transportation jetty in Igbo-Igele, a community hall in Ajara Agelaso while in Ojo Local Government Area we handed over a network of three roads – Shibiri Etegbin Road, Imude Road and Ajangbadi-Ilogbo Road as well as another 2 Million Gallon per day Mini-Waterworks in Ajangbadi town.

The Technical sector of our Educationsystem was given a boost also during this period as we inaugurated the pioneer Technical and Vocational Education Board in the State.

The reporting of the 1, 200 Days was held simultaneously in the three Senatorial Districts of the State on the same day. We chose to address the local communities in their own domains in order to enable them participate more meaningfully and in their larger numbers.

All the members of the State Executive Council were present at all the meetings where our people interacted with them and engaged them on matters which were of concern to them.

Also during this period which started from June 3, 2010, our administration commissioned a number of projects.

On June 10, for example, we handed over a total of 103 classrooms comprising of both rehabilitated and new classroom blocksat the Ikeja Cantonment and Agidingbi Grammar School.

82 of the blocks encapsulated ineight blocks were the rehabilitated and renovated blocks of classrooms destroyed in 2002 by the bomb disaster at the Ikeja Cantonment while the remaining 21 classrooms comprisedin a single block were commissioned at Agidingbi Grammar school in Ojodu Local Council Development Area.

On August 11, our administration again handed over the largest purpose built Court House in Nigeria - the Igbosere Magistrate Court named after the illustrious Hon. Justice J.I.C. Taylor of blessed memory.

We also commissioned a One-Stop-Shop administrative block building of the Lekki Free Trade Zone on August 19.

Other important activities during the period include the inauguration of the Lagos Boundary Committee on June 21, the signing into law of a bill on approved levies for Local Government Councils in the State on July 12, the signing into law of the Bill to Standardize Tourism and Hotel Practice in Lagos on July 19, the send-forth of 42 public school students toa Leadership Training in South Africa on August 2, the inauguration of committee on Lekki-Epe Expansion Project and the signing into law of the bill establishing State Mortgage Board.

Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members of the House, leaders of our party, the Action Congress of Nigeria, Ladies and Gentlemen, in pursuance of our goals, from this summary of our activities spanning approximately 300 days since the presentation of Y2010 Budget, it is indisputably clear that the objectives of that Budget of Consolidation, which was aimed at completing as many on-going projects were substantially achieved.

The result has been unflinching trust and support from the people, demonstrated by their voluntary payment of taxes, peaceful co-existence and increased participation in the democratic process.

Our commitment to the faithful implementation of every budget is evidenced by the quarterly budget review meetings which enables us know in the short term how the budget is performing. It is clear evidence, if any is needed, of the mindset of Government to always be pro-active rather than re-active.

The result has been a budgetary performance that continues to get better every quarter.

For example, while our first quarter review of the 2010 Budget showed a performance of 49 percentthe second quarter review of the budget saw the performance taking a giant leap of almost a hundred percent over the first quarter, posting a performance of 80 percent.

As at the end of the third quarter of 2010, the overall budget performance of the revised budget, following the approval of our Supplementary request, stood at 76%.

The impact of these budgetary performances is reflecting clearly in the lives of our people by the number of life changing projects completed and the policies that are making life better.

The milestones also include those in Transportation where the Lagos Light Rail project construction has now commenced, while the Badagry Road and Lekki Epe Expansion projects are making progress, while we have continued to modernize, expand and improve on the mode of transportation on land through our model brand, the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) which has now also become a global model, the Lagos Metropolitan Transport Authority and the corporate taxis; and on the waters through our operational ferry services, and the Badore, Ipakodo and Osborne Ferry Jetties which are almost completed.

They include our vibrant transport management agency, LASTMA, which has succeeded in taking Lagos from the gloomy days of traffic jams to much improved traffic flow across the metropolis, saving thousands of Lagosians from stress and putting money in their pockets through much shortened travel time.

They also include milestones in the area of Security where the Rapid Response Squad has continually risen to the occasion of curbing violent crimes and emergencies in the State especially with the help of our toll-free 767 and 112 emergency numbers, with which Lagosians can contact the relevant agencies in times of distress.

Further evidence of our budget implementation success and its impact on real and ordinary people is the Agriculture Youth Employment Scheme, Agric YES where the first set of our 200 youth farmers have not only completed their training successfully, they have started producing vegetables and other farm products which makes us very proud of them and our involvement in the Scheme.

Our Administration in the last three years opted, by choice, for programmes and projects with the greatest positive impact on the lives of the people of Lagos State. We have sought to build on the worthy legacy of my predecessor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We have expanded the capacity of our human resources, reformed the machinery and processes of governance, and achieved significant progress in our quest to renew/develop the infrastructure of the State. We have also paid great attention to the environment as well as created a much safer atmosphere for our people to live, work and play.

Other highlights of the budget performance include:

• Total Revenue - N207.649bn or 86%
• Recurrent Expenditure - N108.776bn or 81%
• Capital Receipts - N10.921bn or 51%
• Capital Expenditure - N127.245bn or 73%
• Financing Requirement - N 17.451bn or 38%

Given the clement weather in the last quarter of the year, we are striving to ensure that the full year budget performance reflects an improvement on these ratios. I would like to observe, however, that no other government in Nigeria is currently posting better budgetary performance than Lagos State.

THE Y2011 BUDGET

The Y2011 Budget is the last full year budget to be presented under the current term of this Administration. We have therefore been very painstaking and consulted broadly with relevant stakeholders in preparing the Y2011 budget proposals.

Critical meetings have been held by representatives of the Executive and Legislative arms of Government in preparing this budget.

The focus of the budget will remain, but not limited to, the following Key Sectors: Law and Order; Road and Transportation; Environment; Health; Education; Water; Rural Development and Agriculture.

This budget will seek to promote greater co-operation with the Local Governments and Federal Government, especially on roads rehabilitation and power sector reform, as well as entrenchment of Public Private Partnership (PPP) as alternative development strategy for Lagos infrastructure.

We will consolidate on our infrastructure programme and progress on-going project like the Lagos-Badagry Road, light rail (Blue Line) and Water transportation projects.

Mitigation of global warming would remain a key programme and we shall pursue our environmental mitigation and adaption activities. We shall also consolidate recently established critical and strategic agencies which include the Weather Agency, Lagos Safety Commission, Planning Permit Authority and Building Control Authority.

We will continue to pursue sustained improvements in crime prevention law enforcement and justice administration. The State’s Free Healthcare and Education Programmes will also be sustained, while the implementation of the multi-modal and Integrated Mass Transit Programme will be vigorously pursued.

The Government also intends to give teeth to its affordable housing programme by collaborating with financial institutions to establish a sustainable Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme.

The Y2011 Budget will be used to further the goals of job creation, poverty eradication and wealth creation by ensuring that at least two-thirds of the total capital expenditure funds are directed to the government’s priority areas.

This Government remains concerned about youth unemployment and will continue to implement and pursue policies and programmes that give these critical and important stakeholders of our society, the best opportunities to realize their potentials.

Fiscal discipline in all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) shall therefore be improved upon while ensuring that sustained, accelerated, broad-based economic growth with emphasis on increasing investment and strengthening of the rural economy is maintained.

MEDIUM TERM FISCAL FRAMEWORK (MTFF) 2011-2013

Mr. Speaker, Honourable members of the House, as you are aware, the Y2011 Budget was prepared within the Medium Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF) (Y2011 - Y2013).

This framework describes the overall level of resources projected that would be available to Government to fund its various financial activities over the next three years, including the level of debts to be incurred. In other words, the size of the proposed budget has been limited by our available resources and not our needs.

Let me now proceed to highlight our key goals/programmes/projects in different sectors of the State during Y2011:

GOVERNANCE:

We have come to terms with the increasing pressure on our staff for better service and the need for increased investment in automation through the use of technology and our Government will be actively pursuing ways and means to improve its e-governance capacity in order to respond to this growing demand for service.

LAW & ORDER:

In order to strengthen the capacity of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to enforce law and order, it is proposed to establish new Police Area Commands in the State during 2011. The State government will provide the bulk of the infrastructure for the new area commands, if we must deepen the spread and operations efficiency of security apparatus and agencies in the State.

Several ongoing Court Projects, as well as the Lagos Arbitration Centre, will be completed in 2011. We will also continue to equip and provide operational support for the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) and OP-MESA (Joint Military Services operation), in collaboration with the Security Trust Fund.

ROADS AND TRANSPORTATION:

Over one hundred roads under construction will be completed in 2011, and a lot more attention will be paid to the rehabilitation, repairs and maintenance of inner road networks which has already began under the revitalized Public Works Corporation.

Our commitment to expand water transportation will see the expansion of the water transport routes beyond Ikorodu-Ebute Ero, Lekki to Victoria Island, Oworonshoki to Ikoyi, to Mile 2 to Marina, Badore to Marina and Ikorodu to Marina with the expected completion of all on-going major jetty projects.

ENVIRONMENT:

The System 5 Channelisation project, waste water treatment, Sewage treatment and equipment for solid waste management are some of the major projects to be undertaken or completed in 2011; while our State wide de-flooding and drainage clearing and maintenance programmes will continue to receive optimum attention.

EDUCATION:

Lagos State University, and the other tertiary institutions in the State, will receive additional support in the 2011 budget, especially in view of recent challenges with accreditation of some courses.

The schools rehabilitation programme, including construction and furnishing of new classroom blocks, where required, will also get significant budgetary allocations.

It is important of course to report as I have done in the past, that the various policies of Government ranging from the schools rehabilitation programme, provision of free text books, resuscitation of Voluntary Clubs, the Adopt-a-School programme, the training of teachers, and Eko Project have continued to make the right impact and yield results that are positive even if we are all anxious for a complete turnaround.

It is in this context that I report another growth in number of our students who passed the WASSCE with a minimum of 5 credits including English and Mathematics at one sitting has increased to 21.11%. This is up from 18.41% in 2009, 10.41% in 2008, and 7.58% in 2007.

While our students still need to be supported to overcome their weakness and ensure that they can combine Mathematics and English together in a minimum of 5 credits at one sitting, I must report that the percentage pass in English Language as a subject increased from 41.25% in 2009 to 77.57% in Year 2010, while the percentage pass for Mathematics increased from 22.48% in 2009 to 75.57% in Year 2010.

I am told that the impact of the free books and the improving condition of our school are accountable for this.

Perhaps the most significant result of all is that there was that no incident of cancelled or withheld result in Lagos in 2010.

HEALTH:

The LASUTH Annex at Gbagada; the on-going MCCs; Harvey Road Health Centre; rehabilitation of general hospitals and equipment of Primary Healthcare Centres are the major projects to be completed in the health sector during 2011.

Our various health missions which bring care and healing closer to our citizens will continue in the Year 2011 as will our preventive and advocacy strategy on blindness prevention diabetes and hypertension, cancer screening and many more.

We have made vast advances in the eradication of diseases such as polio and we intend to complete the mopping up to make Lagos and Nigeria Polio free.

We are intensifying our commitment to eradicating or curbing the contagion of malaria, through indoor residual spraying along with other forms of treatment that are globally acceptable to treating infected persons.

HOUSING:

The proposed affordable housing mortgage finance scheme is expected to commence during 2011.

Very importantly, a total of twenty-five housing project, expected to deliver over seven thousand housing units will be completed or substantially advanced in 2011 through partnerships with private developers.

This represents an important new strategy by the Ministry of Housing to expand the stock of housing in the State.

RURAL DEVELOPMENT:

The programme of integrated rural development, under which a range of infrastructure is provided in selected rural communities, will continue in 2011.

For the riverine communities in particular, we will continue to expand transportation jetties and electrification projects. This is expected to enhance living conditions in the rural areas and reduce the drift to the metropolis.

WATER:

One major area of focus in the Water sector during 2011 will be the expansion/rehabilitation of reticulation networks to take advantage of the enhanced water production arising from the completion of the dedicated Independent Power Project for Iju/Adiyan Waterworks.

The rehabilitation/expansion projects at these major waterworks will also commence in 2011. Additionally, three ongoing Mini-waterworks will be completed while several other mini-waterworks will be rehabilitated during 2011.

AGRICULTURE:

Job creation and food security are cardinal goals of our Government.

Agriculture holds bright prospects for employment of our growing youthful population. Our initiatives like the Rice-for-jobs; Agric Youth Empowerment Scheme (Agric-YES) and Livestock/Fish Farm settlements will therefore continue to receive attention in 2011.

POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAMMES:

Our model of developing skill acquisition centres, with linkage to the Lagos State Micro-finance initiative, has proved very successful in making several of our youth gainfully self-employed.

In addition, schemes like the modern taxi owner-operator lease finance sponsored by the State have also recorded good results and will be continued.

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT /JOB CREATION

We recently launched the Lagos Ignite Programme in partnership with the Afterschool Graduate Development Centre (AGDC) with the aim of providing employability training and conversion training for young graduates in order to get them jobs or re-orientate them towards areas where their skills are in need. We are pursuing the conversion programme as the quickest way to convert graduates to jobs in areas where skills are needed.

In our bid to ensure that our children receive good education, participate in sports and also get financial reward doing that, we have also inaugurated a football competition for our young people still in school known as the Lagos Junior League.

Other sports projects like the Street Soccer, Inter-tertiary schools games, Annual Boxing tournament, the Governor’s Cup and so many more will continue.

STAFF WELFARE

We have set up a State Commission to review wages and salaries as a solution to labour agitations arising from Federal Government review of its own staff salaries.

We are proposing a minimum of 20% and a maximum of 25% the latter for essential services as wage increase across board to be implemented upon approval of the budget.

We are conscious of and committed to the welfare of public servants but we remain evenly committed to the overall sustainability of the economy of the State to ensure that it is able to provide for all citizens whether in the public or private sector, by ensuring that our wage bills do not prevent Government from funding its commitment to other social needs of the entire population.

Let me say that as leaders, we have chosen to lead by example and this wage increase has no impact or benefit for all political office holders.

PROPOSED Y2011 BUDGET

Considering the Macro-Economic climate, the proposed Y2011 budget exceeds the Y2010 revised budget by 8.2%. A proposed budget of N445.180bn is hereby presented as summarized below:


Proposed Revised Y2011 Y2010 Change
NN %

TOTAL REVENUE - 352.320bn 322.027bn 9.4
(i) Ordinary Revenue - 262.620bn 234.027bn 12.2
(ii) Federal Transfers - 89.700bn 88.000bn 1.9

Proposed Revised
Y2011 Y2010 Change
NN %

RECURRENT EXPENDITURE -196.709bn 178.015bn 10.5
(i) Total Personnel Cost - 68.229bn 55.079bn 23.9
(ii) Total Overhead Cost -128.480bn 122.936bn 4.5


CAPITAL RECEIPTS - 19.261bn 28.372bn 32.1)
CAPITAL EXPENDITURE - 248.471bn 233.556bn 6.4
FINANCING REQUIREMENT- 73.599bn 61.172bn 20.3

When this budget increase is valued against the recent published inflation figures of about 13%, it will become manifest that the budget has not really increased.

We have revised the Capital to Recurrent ratio of 60:40 in 2010 to 56:44 in 2011. The shift towards recurrent expenditure is largely due to the significant growth in our personnel costs as our response to the demand of our workers for improved welfare and remuneration conditions.

There are also partly informed by the emerging recurrent costs of maintaining and staffing the various infrastructure projects we have embarked upon over the years that are now being put to use.

The deficit financing requirement proposed is N73.599bn which is 1.77% of the State’s GDP.

The components of the total overhead costs of N128.480bn are as follows:

Overhead cost - N69.809 bn
Dedication Account - N22.191 bn
Subvention - N24.430 bn
Staff Housing Fund - N0.050 bn
Debt Charge (External) - N1.050 bn
Debt Charges (Internal) - N6.958 bn
Debt Charge (Bond) - N3.992 bn

Capital Receipts for the Year 2011 Budget is put at N19.261 bnmade up of:

Grants - N4.194 bn
Investment Income - N0.275 bn
and Other Capital Receipts - N14.792 bn

Capital expenditure of N248.471 bn consists of:

Core Capital - N220.016 bn
Capital Development (Dedicated) - N14.442 bn
Grants - N4.194 bn
Counterpart Funding - N4.619 bn
Special Expenditure - N5.000 bn
Risk Retention Fund - N0.200 bn

The sectoral allocation of the Budget in size and percentage are as follows:

General Public Service - N112.608bn (25.3%)
Public Order and Safety - N12.763bn (2.9%)
Economic Affairs - N142.040bn (31.9%)
Environmental Protection - N36.390bn (8.2%)
Housing and Community Amenities - N26.761bn (6.0%)
Health - N39.888bn (9.0%)
Recreation, Culture and Religion - N6.880bn (1.5%)
Education - N61.713bn (13.9%)
Social Protection - N6.137bn (1.4%)

Conclusion

Mr. Speaker, honourable members of the House, ladies and gentlemen, in view of the State’s prime role in Nigeria and indeed West Africa, with the attendant challenges, the State deserves a compensatory share of resources such as Value Added Tax (VAT), Port Royalty, and others derived from this territory.

We must continue to make the point that the prosperity of Lagos is the prosperity of all Nigeria and vice-versa.

Lagos must be treated with special attention given its commendable role as the former capital of Nigeria and being the most populous State, with citizens from every nook and corner of the country, placing extensive pressure on our infrastructure and resources.

We are the only State that every Nigerian feels comfortable to refer to as a home. Indeed we pay the hard way for our success story as this has continued to attract migration to the State. However we will continue to tackle these challenges with uncommon commitment as we are determined to sustain the good works of our predecessors, and reward their enormous sacrifice.

I wish to state that the delivery of democratic dividends remains the cornerstone of our Government in the State and we have done this day after day working in the sun and in the rain for the past 1,295days. We have promised and we have delivered beyond our promise. I must therefore commend the citizens of the State for the unflinching and unwavering support for our efforts.

To our people, I pledge continuous service so that our State would remain the Centre of Excellence.

Let me conclude that we have evolved the transformation plan from the basic to the complex demands of our State.

We have developed strategies and process for ensuring that implementation takes place with reduced supervision and reduced costs.

We are engaging with the more complex challenges of planning and delivery fundamental challenges such as housing in an affordable manner, water supply to every home within a time frame of ten years from today, leveraging on the efficient collection of our solid waste to new levels of other multiple users, financing and completing the Lagos light rail project and others of its kind, integrating the completed jetties with roads, buses and water transport to complete the multi-modality of transport network.

This requires us therefore to be different in our approach and strategy from what others who have not achieved our kind of progress will be dealing with. Of course, you have my unflinching and irrevocable commitment to the brighter and rewarding future of Lagos.

I must therefore not pass on this opportunity to remind all of us, that the delivery of that future that we dream of has already started.

Its sustainability depends on the existence of a stable political climate built on strong democratic principles; of a free and fair election that produces leaders elected on the true votes of the people expressed at the ballot.

Nothing therefore can be more important for every Lagosian at this time than the opportunity to get involved in that process which starts with ensuring that we all make the participation in the on-coming Voters’ Registration our topmost priority for Y2011.

Mr. Speaker, Honourable members of the Lagos State House of Assembly, leaders of our Party, eminent lagosians, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I thank you all for your attention and wish you all a merry Christmas and prosperous New Year.

Eko o ni baje ooo!!!


Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN
Governor of Lagos State

December 14, 2010



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