Speeches

4th Lagos State Executive/Legislative Parley: Adopting Best Management Practices in The Public Sector

May 7, 2010 - I welcome you once again, my distinguished brothers and sisters, to this unique family meeting of ours. As we approach the middle of our third year in office, it offers a priceless opportunity for us to look back, reassess our policies, programmes and actions, and thank God for what He has enabled us to do for our people thus far.

In this regard, I think one of our greatest achievements is in the simple fact that we have thus far labored together, in a spirit of teamwork and brotherly love, to discharge our respective but connected obligations to make life easier for residents, visitors and investors in Lagos State.

I take this as a matter of utmost importance because, as the old adage goes, teamwork divides the task and doubles the success. This is more so when, as in this case, achievement of the common purpose is so much more fulfilling and superior to any parochial aspirations which any of us might have.

The sustenance of this stamp of service, for which Lagos State Government has earned local and international acclaim, depends crucially on a prevailing atmosphere of mutual understanding and accommodation among the leadership which, I hope, can be fostered by retreats such as this.

Frankly, I do not think we can really do our sworn duty to serve the public to the best of our ability if we do not take time to harmonize our thoughts and retrain our vision on those ideals that will make our State the model megacity in Africa.

Whatever the level of our concentration and achievements may be to date, we could only have been able to go that far because we were able harness the advantages of teamwork. As we take our progressive strides in Lagos, examples abound within and outside Nigeria of fractionalized governments struggling to take even the smallest of steps.

Conflicts are however inevitable, even in the most cohesive of organisations. In all ages and across continents, conflict management has proved itself as a golden key to success. We must therefore take full advantage of these quarterly retreats of ours. It has given us the opportunity not only to know each other better, but also to coordinate our views on essential matters affecting the State and our dear nation.

For instance, our previous session on legislative agenda was an extremely useful way to agree a position on policy and legislative issues which will continuously guide us all, especially our federal legislators, to speak with one clear and convincing voice among the cacophony of voices that often threaten to drown the national debate.

A similar ambition was largely achieved when, at our penultimate retreat, we discussed and together fashioned out a Lagos position on necessary constitutional amendments that will restore true federalism and put Nigeria firmly on a progressive road at last.

It was not long after that that the issue of Land Use Act amendment and electoral reforms started to brew. As usual, we were able to rejoin, as the Lagos team, to debate among ourselves and find genuine basis for supporting a position that we eventually articulated for dissemination to the general public.

Whenever these issues arise, there can be no doubt that the position of Lagos State will emerge as one of the most well thought out.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, we are emerging from what, for Nigeria and other countries around the world, is a most difficult year. The global economic depression adversely affected governments' earnings while wiping away savings and precipitating unprecedented factory closures, bankruptcy and job loses around the world.

As the world struggled to understand this difficult phenomenon, Nigeria fell into its biggest stock market crash which dealt a heavy blow on many individuals, families and businesses. As the stock market strives to recover, we have since witnessed another alarming round of banking crisis.

Politics is about the economy, and we cannot talk of social development without a viable economy. We therefore need to keep an eye on these trends while seeking a greater understanding of the role that Lagos plays in the Nigerian and African contexts.

These are some of the reasons why we have invited a well rounded and experienced economist to guide us through it all, giving us a clear view of the present and an informed peep into the future. Dr. Ayo Teriba is a well known personality in this field and I am sure that he will share with us very useful information which will enhance our personal understanding and enable us to plan more purposefully in our public service assignments.

We shall also have a unique opportunity to share the experiences of one of Nigeria's greatest administrators and statesmen, His Excellency, Dr. Chistopher Kolade, CON. Formerly Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Dr. Kolade now teaches Corporate Governance and Human Resources Management at the Lagos Business School (LBS), and Leadership & Conflict Management at the School of Media & Communication (SMC).

LBS and SMC are both schools of Pan-African University, of which Dr. Kolade is Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council. If there are management practices in the private sector which we can imbibe in the service of our people Dr. Kolade is bound to know them intimately. He is here to share them with us today.

Also, as we have all found out, the study of interpersonal relationship is a lifelong one, given the ever dynamic complexities of human nature. I have no doubt that a session with this great man who has literally seen it all will be of utmost benefit to all of us in our personal, professional and public service endeavours.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, on Monday the 1st of March, 2010, I gave my assent to the 2010 Appropriation Law which incorporates a total budget size of N389.571 Billion.

As a policy, our Government shall continue to push for sustainable economic growth through infrastructural renewal and development. However, in deference to our revenue limitations, the completion of ongoing projects will be treated as priority. In view of this and the general reduction in overall budget size, the capital/recurrent expenditure ratio for 2010 is 31:69.

As we continue to demand efficiency in our revenue administration and push for IGR growth, it has become clear that we need some extra support, especially by way of domestic borrowing.

In an overwhelming show of support by the investing public, the 2nd Tranche of our Debt Issuance Programme was recently completed with a coupon rate of 10% and a 349% subscription. However, only N57.5 billion of this was actually allotted to investors since the State is only allowed to absorb an additional 15% of the issue size as oversubscription.

Due to the impressive IGR performance of Lagos State and a most diligent servicing of the first tranche, the Securities and Exchange Commission has waived the requirement of an Irrevocable Standing Payment Order for this second tranche. There will therefore be no compulsory deduction from the State's Federal Allocation in respect of the 2nd Tranche of our Bond Issue.

With this show of support, we are confident that the 2010 budget of consolidation will enable us complete our several ongoing projects, initiate new ones that are clearly essential for the benefit of our people and further improve the overall quality of life and neighborhood experience of Lagosians and our visitors alike.

I think, more importantly, that the implementation of this budget will require a lot of pro-active planning, hard work, our collective dedication and a very strong determination to succeed.

In the same vein, we recently completed the 5th Lagos State Economic Summit at which the private sector and the investing public expressed confidence in the management of Lagos State and its very obvious prospects as a business and tourism destination.

The Summit gave us the opportunity to get essential feedbacks from participants and to enlighten them on Government's policies and plans. The widely acclaimed success of this interaction is another justification of the unshaken faith we have in the ability of this team, executive, legislative and judicial to make Lagos the model megacity in Africa and one of the best in the world.

Several bills already pending or still to be presented to the House will be crucial tools of the executive towards the achievement of our shared goals and I have no doubt that the Right Honourable Speaker and Honourable members of the State House of Assembly will treat them expeditiously, but with the usual thoroughness and fairness.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, 2010 is the year in which debates will reach crescendo on constitutional amendments, electoral reforms, economic reforms, tax policy and other issues of national importance. I have reasons to believe that we are well prepared to safeguard the interests of Lagos within the context of a federalist and progressive Nigeria. However, all of us, especially our distinguished senators and federal legislators, will have to remain at alert and pursue the course of these debates with utmost calm and care.

The structural imbalances which are inherent in the Nigerian Federation, are already made worse by our official population figures attributed to Lagos State. Unfortunately, these figures have historically undermined Lagos for political ends.

Determination of the revenue allocation formula and the number of local government councils were, in significant ways, dependent on obviously wrong official population figures. The current assumed figure of 9 (Nine) Million flies in the face of several local and international research outcomes as well as the palpable effects of population explosion which we are struggling daily to manage.

This is why we have taken the firm stand of challenging this assumed figure at the Census Appeal Tribunal and I can assure you that we will pursue this appeal with all the diligence that it so strongly deserves.

In the meantime, another dimension of the fallout was manifested recently in the report of the National Advisory Committee on Delimitation of Constituencies.

Based on the 2006 Census results (which give Lagos Island a population of 106,000) the Committee has recommended that the Federal Constituencies in Lagos Island be reduced from two to one. We are aware that this Committee has submitted its report to the National Assembly and I cannot emphasize enough the need for every one of us to stand vehemently against this proposed reversal of fortunes.

Not only do we emphatically dispute those figures and protest the intended reduction of Federal constituency, the whole idea is undemocratic, ill motivated and undermines any effort at democratic and representative governance.

As i said in my welcome address at the INEC organized interactive session on delineation of constituencies held on 3rd July, 2008:

"Let me quickly give you a simple analogy on this issue. Only 33,000 policemen are currently policing more than 18 million people in Lagos State. Invariably, this portends that we have almost 600 people per policeman and this dismal police-citizen ratio has grave implications on effective law enforcement and the security of lives, property and investment in the State. In a representative democracy such as we presently have in the country, a legislator representing 200 people, for instance, is bound to be more effective than the one representing 1000 people.

Lagos Central Senatorial that houses the economic and commercial institutions in the State is fast growing with increase in number of businesses and investors who choose to live and work in Lagos."

It is a tragic breach of faith that it is in Lagos Island, located in the same Senatorial District where the financial and commercial heart of Nigeria lies, that thought of constituency reduction are being contemplated instead of increasing them.

I could think of no other way to describe this than to say that the attempt to reduce Federal Constituency in Lagos Island is an internal conspiracy against Nigeria's economic interest.

In conclusion, I hope this gathering will go a long way in further educating us about the challenges of the times and further promoting relationships among us here and between us and our staff members. Obviously, the better the cooperation, communication and coordination we are able to achieve, the more efficient the team.

I look forward to very fruitful deliberations.

Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN
Governor of Lagos State