Lagos budgets N100 billion for purchase of vehicles this year

The Lagos State Government is to spend the sum of N100 billion to purchase vehicles this year, as contained in the 2024 approved budget signed into law by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

The 2024 approved budget tracked by PM NEWS downloaded from Open Nigerian States, shows that the state government budgeted N42.82 billion for the purchase of vehicles this year, but the State House of Assembly jacked it up to N100 billion and approved the budget.

Also, between January and September 2023, the Lagos State Government had spent N24.079 billion to purchase vehicles. The money expended in purchasing vehicles by the government in the fourth quarter of 2023 was not captured.

But out of the N44.18 billion budgeted for vehicles in 2023, N24.079 billion was released for that purpose within the first nine months, leaving the last three months uncaptured.

Despite this, N100 billion has been approved for buying vehicles this year for various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

Details of how the money would be spent are not captured in the budget.

Asides buying of vehicles, N7.99 billion has been budgeted in the 2024 budget for the purchase of trucks. The initial proposal by the government was N8.193 billion, but the House of Assembly cut it to N7.99 billion. This was asides the N5.437 billion spent by the state government in purchasing trucks within the first nine months of 2023 while the remaining three months were not captured.

Also, N5.4 billion in the approved 2024 budget is for the purchase of computers. Within the last nine months of 2023, N3 billion was spent to buy computers by the government.

The sum of N28.8 billion is to be spent by the state government to purchase office buildings. This is asides the N13 billion spent within nine months of 2023 to purchase office buildings out of the N29.8 billion budgeted for it last year.

In all, the government plans to spend N182 billion to purchase general fixed assets as captured in the 2024 approved budget. This is higher than the N139 billion approved for purchase of fixed assets the previous year, out of which N69.39 billion was spent within nine months of 2023 for purchase of fixed assets.