Ambode Finally Presents 2019 Budget: The Drama

There was a mild drama at the Lagos State House of Assembly on Tuesday as Governor Akinwunmi Ambode finally presented the 2019 budget to the Assembly. The event, which was scheduled to start at 9am, did not begin until some minutes past 2pm.

When the Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, asked the clerk if there was any message from the governor, he said, “No.”
The House was about to begin the day’s proceedings when the sergeant-at-arms signaled that the governor was around.

The Majority Leader of the House, Sanai Agunbiade, therefore, moved a motion to activate the Assembly’s order 144 to allow the governor to participate in the proceedings.

Presenting a budget sum of N852.316bn before the Assembly, Ambode said the budget was planned to give Lagos residents a new lease of life.

He said, “From the inception of this administration, we’ve focused on security, transport, traffic management, housing, health, wealth creation, economic, infrastructure, among others…”

He said the government had been consolidating public financial management and technology-driven revenue reforms through data integration and the use of multi-payment channels.