Don’t Play Politics with Revenue Allocation, Lagos Tells FG

The Lagos State Government at the weekend urged the federal government to desist from playing politics with the adoption of genuine revenue allocation, which it said, could guarantee even development among the federating units. Also, the state government disclosed its plans to achieve 100 per cent budget performance in 2014 compared with the 89 per cent it attained under the 2013 fiscal year, saying a shortfall in its allocation from the Federation Account would not undermine it. The Deputy Governor, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, disclosed this at a retreat for the management staff of the state’s Ministry of Finance which she addressed alongside the ministry’s commissioner, Mr. Ayodeji Gbeleyi, among others in Lagos. At the retreat, the deputy governor intensified calls for a special status for Lagos, thereby citing the state’s strategic position in the federation, which it said, constituted the central reason the state should be accorded with special status. She, therefore, called on the federal government to stop playing politics with the genuine revenue allocation due to the state, saying Lagos “is no doubt the country’s economic nerve centre contributing largely the country’s GDP. “Lagos State is a mega city and cosmopolitan. The state plays host to all the ethnic groups in our country. But it remains the state with the smallest landmass although it is the most. “The population of the state is the population of almost seven or 10 states together. We have made representations to the federal government for special status. About 65 percent of commercial activities in the country takes place in the state. “The state contributes almost 60 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Yet, special funding has not been considered for Lagos, which by all standards is the commercial hub of West Africa and the heart of Nigeria,” Adefulire said. On budget implementation, the deputy governor expressed strong will to attain 100 percent performance in the 2014 fiscal year, which she said, would be an improvement over the 89 percent the state achieved in the previous year. She, also, said the state government would improve its residents’ quality of life through aggressive urban renewal, infrastructure development and implementation of sustainable economic policies, which she said, would promote rapid growth. But the deputy governor commended the ministry for organising annual performance retreat, which she said, would provide opportunity for the management staff to reflect, evaluate their performance, discuss and exchange ideas on issues relating to their various schedules. She acknowledged that prudent financial management “is very crucial to successful implementation of government policies and efficient service delivery to the citizenry.” She said the theme of the retreat, Contemporary Public Finance Management in Megacities: A case study of Four Renowned Cities of Mumbai, Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg and New York “is apt and most relevant.” According to her, it will make necessary assessment of public finance management with other developed economies possible just as one can learn new methods of improving on the financial management of an emerging megacity. She said in the recent years, there had been an increasing pressure on the public sector to develop world class capacities for policy making, service delivery and corporate service in response to their role as main providers of public service. She said without availability of adequately trained personnel and financial managers, all government efforts geared towards implementing effective policies “to confront challenges will be a waste.” In his address, the commissioner said the annual performance retreat of the ministry became necessary in view of the crucial role that the ministry played in the implementation of all sustainable programmes and policies of the state government. Gbeleyi said there was the need for financial managers “to continually sharpen knowledge and skills in providing proactive and sustainable financial solutions consistent with the best practices all over the world to make government programmes implementable.” He added that the four cities of Mumbai, Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg and New York adopted in the theme of the retreat “have been carefully selected given their similarities to the infrastructure challenges and indeed the opportunities these can provide to Lagos situation in some respect.”