Doherty Raises Concerns over Errors Lagos  Budget

Sunday Ehigiator

A governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State, Funso Doherty, has raised concerns over alleged errors, lack of transparency, and misplaced priorities in the N4.237 trillion 2026 budget proposal presented to the Lagos State House of Assembly.

In an open letter to the Speaker of the Assembly titled ‘Re: Lagos State Government’s 2026 Proposed Budget’, Doherty said the budget presented by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on November 25, 2025, contained what he described as “significant inaccuracies” that require urgent clarification before its passage.

Doherty noted that the proposed recurrent expenditure of N2.052 trillion includes about N383 billion earmarked for debt repayment, which he argued should be classified as capital expenditure rather than recurrent spending.

According to him, “This misclassification means that the recurrent, capital and total budget figures may be misstated by nearly N400 billion.”

He also pointed out inconsistencies in the sectoral allocation figures contained in the proposal, saying: “They add up to N3.4 trillion, which falls short of the total proposed budget size of N4.237 trillion.

“One, or possibly both, of these figures must therefore be wrong.”

The PDP aspirant criticised the Lagos State Government over what he described as a persistent lack of fiscal transparency, noting that “detailed budget documents are often not made publicly available until after the Appropriation Act has been passed.”

He argued that this practice limits public scrutiny and meaningful input during the legislative process.

Referencing the 2025 budget, Doherty highlighted several appropriations he described as questionable, including “over N20.6 billion for vehicles and utility buses for members of the House of Assembly, more than N6.2 billion for generators, and N5 billion for property purchases in Lagos and Abuja.”

He also raised concerns over the N186.6 billion allocated to consultancy and professional fees, which he said accounted for nearly 15 per cent of the state’s recurrent expenditure.

According to him, “It is not clear what services are being contracted for these tremendous costs, which are recurrent in nature, and why.”

Doherty further cited data from civic organisation BudgIT, which ranked Lagos State 36th out of 36 states in fiscal transparency in the first two quarters of 2025.

He added that details of contract awards were no longer being published by the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency, contrary to provisions of the state’s procurement law.

On budget priorities, Doherty said “expenditure patterns over the past five years showed what he described as chronic under-investment in education, health, housing, and water supply.”

He stated that between 2021 and 2025, the combined spending on education, health, housing development and water supply accounted for just 17 per cent of total government expenditure.

The PDP member also noted that “the N87 billion capital expenditure allocated to the Lagos State House of Assembly in the 2025 budget exceeded allocations to the entire health sector (N68 billion) and education sector (N69 billion).”

According to him, “these spending patterns have contributed to poor outcomes in public education, housing, water supply and healthcare, including weak performance in public examinations and high under-five mortality rates.”

Doherty described the 2026 revenue projections as unrealistic, saying they followed a pattern observed in previous budgets.

He noted that as of September 2025, actual revenues stood at N2.07 trillion, compared to a full-year projection of N3.37 trillion.

“Unrealistic revenue budgeting undermines effective planning, prioritisation and implementation of government programmes,” he said.

Despite his criticisms, Doherty acknowledged some improvements in the proposed budget, including the absence of a large “Special Duties Expenses” line item and a reduction in foreign currency borrowing.

He called on the House of Assembly to ensure that detailed budget proposals for 2026 and subsequent years are made publicly available during the legislative process before they are passed into law.