That's why state officials are coming out with conflicting figures on Lagos State finances. A few months ago, before Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala resumed duty as the Minister for Finance, Lagos State government officials were lying through their teeth about IGR and the state's finances in general. See below:

http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/news/23635--we-paid-minimun-wage-to-motivate-workers-lagos-govt-denies-claim-its-monthly-igr-is-n20bn

Thursday, 16 June 2011
LAGOS State government said, on Wednesday, its resolve to pay the N18, 000 minimum wage recently prescribed by the Federal Government for Nigerian workers, is based on its belief that governance would be better enhanced with a well-motivated workforce.

The government statement, which was signed by Hakeem Bello, the Senior Special Assistant on media to the state governor, came on the heels of an advertorial by Oyo State government purporting that the Lagos State government has commenced payment of the new minimum wage because it “generates N20 billion internally every month. Therefore, its new wage bill of N5.5 billion is only 25 per cent of its monthly IGR”.

In a statement signed by chairman of Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), Mr Tunde Fowler, the government declared, “Our resolve to pay the minimum wage with obvious limitations given the infrastructure and social needs of a state with huge population like Lagos, hinges on our believe that our ability to govern and serve our people can only be enhanced by a well-motivated workforce”.

Describing the advertorial’s reference to Lagos State IGR as “inaccurate”, the state government further stated, “For the records, the internally generated Revenue (IGR) of Lagos State is yet to reach N20 billion per month. It is, therefore, inaccurate to report that Lagos State IGR is N20 billion”.

According to the government, “The 36 states of the federation have different comparative advantages, hence the need to leverage on the unique opportunities that each state is blessed with; Lagos State is determined to empower its workforce. Hence, the payment of the minimum wage of N18,000”.

“This response is to clarify factual inaccuracies above Lagos State government’s internally generated revenue”, the statement said.

After Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala resumed, the agreement they had with Yar'Adua to stop publishing the monthly allocation figures to state and LGs, which continued under Aganga (by agreement with Tinubu, in exchange for Tinubu's support for his renomination as a minister in GEJ's government) was stopped, and for the first time in 4 years, the Federal Allocation figures for the year from January 2011 were published in Thisday Newspaper.

By Monday 22nd August 2011, the song had changed:

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/lagos-targets-higher-igr-in-2012/96843/

By Obinna Chima

Lagos State Government said it would ensure that it sustains growth in its Internally General Revenues (IGR) in 2012 fiscal year.

Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Lagos State, Mr. Ben Akabueze, said this while presenting the state’s ‘2012 Fiscal Strategy,’ at a stakeholders’ forum at the weekend.

The forum was aimed at promoting citizens’ participation in budget preparation as well as to highlight the goals and the half year performance of the 2011 Budget.

According to him, the state’s IGR stood at a total of N262.620 billion in the first half of the year, out of the total budget of N450.775 billion for the year.

He added that the government will strengthen its revenue drive. Akabueze also said that the state plans to gradually diversify into areas such as tourism, Information Communication Technology (ICT), oil and gas among others.

“We had planned that by the half year 2011, we would borrow N39.5 billion, but we certainly did not borrow any money by that time. By half year, we still had some surplus fund and so we decided not to borrow. If you look at the budget performance for the half year, you will notice that the personal cost rose significantly to 111.3 per cent, due to increase in salary of the state workforce. The minimum wage increase has increased our minimum wage bill to over N2 billion a month.

“We intend to use the 2012 budget to deepen the goals of job creation, poverty eradication and wealth creation. We also intend to ensure sustained, accelerated, broad-based economic growth with emphasis on increasing investment outside the metropolitan area. The budget will also help to foster a robust enabling environment for investment in infrastructure through Public-Private Partnership (PPP),” the Commissioner said.

He listed the inner city roads; water supply project at Adiyan Phase two and Odanla, new sewage treatment plant at Itedo and Odo Iya-Alaro, and new Independent Power Projects at Somolu, Matori, Alausa, Ikeja, as capital projects the 2012 budget will focus on.

Earlier, in her welcome address, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Economic Planning, Mrs. Iyabowale Aluko reiterated the need for suggestions, observations and contributions by stakeholders on how to enhance the development of the state.

Either Tunji Bello is an illiterate and innumerate, or Akabueze is a liar. Please examine these statements, within months of each other and tell me Fashola is not engaged in some major corruption.

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