Lagos State commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, took a retrospective look at the state’s 2025 N3.366 trillion budget over the weekend, revealing an impressive 80 per cent cumulative performance.
Omotoso, who spoke to journalists about the state of Lagos, said, ‘’As of September, it is about 79 percent. But it’s over 80 per cent performance now. In terms of revenue, we are also doing very well, and in terms of capital projects, we have done about 80 per cent.
“And we are doing very well. And I think that the project is working. No community has not felt the positive effects of Governor Sanwo-Olu’s administration. When we had the community day, we could see the excitement on their faces.
“If the government were not doing well in their areas, we would not see such solidarity. We would not see such comradeship. We would not see such excitement.
“In fact, most of the things that we are doing are based on all those communities because we have an agreement with local governments about building roads and developing their schools.
“I remember at one point, they said the local governments should build X number of roads. The state government would match it. So, people in all those communities are pleased to go to Badagry now. They want to live in Badagry. People want to live in Ikorodu. People want to live in Igbogbo. Don’t forget one of the best housing estates the Lagos state government has is Igbogbo. Don’t forget that we have built more than 15 jetties that are used in all these local communities. If you want to travel from Ikorodu to Lagos Island, it’s less than 30 minutes.
It’s because of what the Lagos state government has done in all those local communities.’’
Harping on the demolition that the state government carried out in the Trade Fair Complex, the commissioner ruled out the insinuation in some quarters that it was targeted at some people.
He said, “It’s terrible for anybody to make such suggestions. It’s absurd. It’s unthinkable. Because Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has governed Lagos for about six years, and in those six years, nobody has come out to complain that he has had anything to do with any segregation, discrimination, either in terms of religion, in terms of colour, in terms of racism. Lagosians are Lagosians, and we all know this.
“All of those things that they are talking about, discrimination, they are things that people who don’t even know us are talking about, people who don’t even live in Lagos.
“Some of those things you see on social media, you check out all those perpetrating them. They are people who don’t live here and live millions of miles away—and talking specifically about the Trade Fair. I mean, how can you build a house without a permit? It’s not done anywhere.
“And the government said, look, you can’t do this. The federal government owns it. That’s fine. What the law says, according to the Supreme Court judgement of a 2003 Attorney General of Lagos versus Attorney General of Federation, supported by other states who came into the matter, is that, well, only the states have the permission, the right, the powers to issue permits for anybody to go and build. And that is the way it’s done all over the world. If you go to New York, Los Angeles, Mumbai, Chicago, or anywhere else, you must obtain a building permit before building.
