Economy
Lagos Signs 2018 Budget Into Law, Targets N897b Revenue
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
On Monday, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State signed the 2018 Appropriation Bill of the State into law with a total budget size of N1.046 trillion.
A breakdown of the budget showed that it comprises N347.038 billion to be funded from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, and N699.082 billion from the Development Fund for both capital and recurrent expenditure for the year ending December 31, 2018.
Also yesterday, the Governor signed two critical bills into law; the Consolidated Transport Sector Bill and the Lagos State Teaching Service Commission Bill.
The Transport Sector Law 2018 provides for the development and management of a sustainable transport system in the State, as well as development, management and maintenance of transport infrastructure and facilities within the State.
The law also regulates the provision of an efficient transport delivery system and ensures availability of a safe and affordable transportation system. It is hoped that with this law, an efficient integrated transport management system will evolve in the State.
On the other hand, the Teaching Service Commission Law 2018 provides for the control and management of teaching service matters in the State, and for connected purposes.
The law regulates and co-ordinates the management of teaching service matters and provides uniform guidelines for the effective management of Post-Primary Schools in the State.
Governor Ambode, while presenting the 2018 Appropriation Bill to the State House of Assembly, had pledged that his administration would make every effort to complete all ongoing projects as well as initiate new ones to consolidate on the development recorded in the last two and half years.
He said the budget, christened as “Budget of Progress and Development”, would be used to consolidate on the achievements recorded in infrastructure, education, transportation/traffic management, security and health sectors, among others.
Outlining the key components of the budget, Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr Olusegun Banjo, said capital expenditure would gulp N699.082 billion, while N347.039 billion would be dedicated to recurrent expenditure, representing a Capital/Recurrent ratio of 67 percent to 33 percent and a 28.67 percent increase over 2017 budget.
He also listed key projects captured in the 2018 Budget to include the Agege Pen Cinema flyover; alternative routes through Oke-Ira in Eti-Osa to Epe-Lekki Expressway; the 8km Regional Road to serve as alternative route to connect Victoria Garden City (VGC) with Freedom Road in Lekki Phase I; completion of the on-going reconstruction of Oshodi International Airport Road into a 10-lane road and the BRT Lane from Oshodi to Abule-Egba.
According to sectoral breakdown of the budget, General Public Services is earmarked to gulp N171.623 billion, representing 16.41 percent; Public Order and Safety, N46.612 billion, representing 4.46 percent; Economic Affairs, N473.866 billion, representing 45.30 percent; Environmental Protection, N54.582 billion, representing 5.22 percent, while Housing and Community Amenities got N59.904 billion, representing 5.73 percent.
Health sector got N92.676 billion, representing 8.86 percent; Recreation, Culture and Religion got N12.511 billion, representing 1.20 percent; Education got N126.302 billion representing 12.07 percent, while Social Protection got N8.042 billion representing 0.77 percent.
Under the budget, there are provisions for completion of the five new Art Theatres; establishment of an Heritage Centre at the former Federal Presidential State House recently handed over to the State Government; a world class museum between the former Presidential Lodge and the State House, Marina; construction of four new stadia in Igbogbo, Epe, Badagry and Ajeromi Ifelodun (Ajegunle) and completion of the on-going Epe and Badagry Marina projects.
On Housing, there are provisions for completion of on-going projects especially those at Gbagada, Igbogbo, Iponri, Igando, Omole Phase I, Sangotedo and Ajara-Badagry under the Rent-to-Own policy, among others.
Also speaking, Commissioner for Finance, Mr Akinyemi Ashade put the projection for revenue (IGR) at N897 billion, while the remaining part of the budget would be funded by deficit financing.
“Today is a good day in our State, the Governor just signed the 2018 Appropriation Law. For the first time the Law has about N1.046 trillion as total amount that we would spend in 2018.
“The Budget is tagged “Budget of Progress and Development” and in terms of capital and recurrent expenditure, we have 63 percent Capital and 37 percent Recurrent and that shows that we are really big on infrastructural renewal.
“In terms of revenue, we are expecting a total of N897 billion both from the State and Federal receipts, so the rest would be funded through budget deficit financing.
“We are focusing this year on completing all projects that we have started knowing fully well that people would say that this is an election year, but the Governor is focused on delivering the dividends of democracy; we are not slowing down, we want to really ensure that we touch every aspect of Lagos that needs to be touched in terms of infrastructural renewal, welfare and other things that the Governor promised,” Mr Ashade said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has defended its decision to allow Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to invest in the parent companies of their custodians, insisting that adequate safeguards are in place to protect contributors’ funds.
The director-general of the pension regulator, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, speaking on Tuesday during the Meet the Press Briefing at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the commission’s decision to relax the investment restriction followed a comprehensive risk assessment that found minimal conflict of interest.
She explained that under PenCom’s investment regulations, PFAs are only permitted to invest pension assets in carefully selected instruments that meet stringent criteria, including profitability, strong credit ratings and proven track records.
According to her, the commission regularly reviews its investment regulations, conducts routine examinations and spot checks on PFAs to ensure strict compliance with established risk management guidelines.
“PFAs cannot just go into the stock market and buy any kind of stock. There are strict guidelines. Companies must demonstrate profitability, have a proven track record and satisfy other criteria before pension funds can invest,” she said.
Ms Oloworaran noted that each PFA also operates under the oversight of a board, an investment committee and a risk management committee, providing additional layers of governance to safeguard contributors’ funds.
She said PenCom recently issued a circular allowing PFAs to invest in the parent companies of their custodians after determining that the potential conflict of interest was negligible.
The PenCom boss explained that the parent companies involved are largely Tier-1 banks, including First Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Zenith Bank, which she described as A-rated institutions with strong financial foundations.
She said the policy was intended to widen investment opportunities for pension funds without compromising safety.
Using Stanbic IBTC as an example, Ms Oloworaran explained that if its custodian is Zenith Bank, the previous restriction prevented the pension administrator from investing in Zenith Bank shares despite the bank’s strong performance.
“We reviewed the risks and any potential conflict of interest and found the risks to be very low. That is why we opened that investment window,” she said.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Analysts at Meristem Research have predicted that the inflation rate for June 2026 in Nigeria should marginally rise to 15.95 per cent on a year-on-year basis from the 15.93 per cent reported in May 2026.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release inflation numbers for last month later today, Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
In its report sighted by Business Post, Meristem Research said it expects inflationary pressures to re-emerge across key economies in the near term, as the re-escalation of the US-Iran conflict has reignited upward pressure on global oil prices.
It disclosed that this marks a sharp reversal from most of June, when the ceasefire between the two countries helped drive oil prices lower, raising expectations of some relief on the inflation front.
With conflicts now flaring up again, oil prices are likely to increase again, and the anticipated easing in energy-driven inflation may not materialise as broadly as earlier envisaged.
“Nonetheless, some relief is likely from the food segment, where robust supply conditions across major producing regions and softening demand should continue to ease food price pressures,” it stated.
The team also explained that it projected a 15.95 per cent inflation rate because of the lingering effects of persistent food price pressures.
“However, we expect core inflation to moderate as the sharp reversal in energy prices begins to filter through to transportation, distribution, and other energy-related costs, easing underlying price pressures.
“On a month-on-month basis, the combined effect of lower petrol prices, a relatively stable Naira, and the gradual pass-through of reduced energy costs across the supply chain should exert further downward pressure on inflation.
“Based on our assessment, food inflation is expected to remain the key swing factor, as seasonal pre-harvest supply constraints are likely to offset some of the gains from lower logistics costs,” it said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and Afriland Properties Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.61 per cent on Tuesday, July 14.
CSCS Plc saw its stock value drop N9.08 to close at N82.40 per share compared with the preceding session’s N91.48 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc slid by 17 Kobo to sell at N15.00 per unit versus N15.70 per unit.
The losses recorded by the two securities pulled back the market capitalisation by N41.64 billion to N2.546 trillion from N2.587 trillion, and cracked the NASD Security Index (NSI) by 69.36 points to 4,242.31 points from 4,311.67 points.
It was observed that the exchange witnessed two price advancers during the session, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which gained N1.37 to end at N151.37 per share compared with the previous day’s N150.00 per share, and Food Concepts Plc chalked up 5 Kobo to settle at N2.50 per unit versus N2.45 per unit.
The volume of securities traded by market participants surged by 50.7 per cent to 13.7 million units from the previous 9.1 million units, while the value of securities went down by 79.7 per cent to N65.2 million from N320.4 million, and the number of deals crashed by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from the previous session’s 28 deals.
At the close of transactions, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with the sale of 3.4 billion units for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc, which exchanged 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units transacted for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
