Lagos State’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for 2021 might have suffered a N180 billion shortfall at the end of the year.
The full figure has not been officially released, either by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) or the state government. However, if available statistics for quarter one cum half year and comments by Commissioner for Finance, Dr Rabiu Olowo, are anything to go by, then the state had an average N15 billion monthly deficit in 2021.
In the approved 2021 budget, the state had projected generation of at least N60 billion monthly to finance the budget signed into law by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. The state government, however, did not meet the target, as it could only generate an average of N45 billion monthly.
Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Mr. Sam Egube, while providing breakdown of the 2021 budget, after it was approved, disclosed that the state targeted N723.8 billion IGR to finance the budget. This implied that the state should generate, on average, N60 billion monthly, if it must meet the yearlong target.
But the quarter one and half year statistics by NBS revealed that the state generated N127 billion and N267.23 billion in quarter one and half year respectively in 2021. Also, a breakdown of NBS statistics revealed that the state generated N44.5 billion monthly. If the state had met its monthly IGR target, at the end of quarter one, it should have generated N180 billion as IGR, as against N127 billion. Also, at the middle of the year, it should have generated N360 billion as IGR, as against N267 billion.
Speaking, last month, at the 149th Joint Tax Board (JTB) meeting in Lagos, Olowo said: “I am pleased to let you know that Lagos State has grown its IGR from N600 monthly in 1999 to over N45 billion monthly as of today.”
If the N45 billion monthly IGR figure is multiplied by 12 months, the state generated N540 billion in 2021, as against the N723.8 billion it projected. This implies that the target was not met by about N183 billion.
Similarly, looking into the state’s spending in the last two years, capital expenditure might have borne the brunt of the shortfall in IGR.
In 2019, the state projected N479.6 billion as capital expenditure but ended up spending N241 billion, which was just a little bit above 50 per cent of the expected capital expenditure. On the other hand, while the state was expected to spend N393.8 billion on recurrent expenditure, it ended up spending N555.6 billion. In 2020, the state allocated N508.9 billion for capital expenditure but ended up spending N304.9 billion. And while it planned to spend N411.6 billion on recurrent expenditure, it eventually spent N386.5 billion. (Guardian)