Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State on Tuesday announced his intention to repeal the Public Office Holder (Payment of Pension Law 2007), which provides for payment of pension and other entitlements to former Governors and their Deputies.
Sanwo-Olu made this announcement in his address while he was presenting the 2021 budget of N1,155,022,413,005.82 to the Lagos State House of Assembly.
He said: “Mr Speaker and honourable members of the House, in light of keeping the costs of governance low and to signal selflessness in public service, we will be sending a draft executive bill to the House imminently for the repeal of the Public Office Holder (Payment of Pension Law 2007), which provides for payment of pension and other entitlements to former Governors and their Deputies.
“It is our firm belief that with dwindling revenues and the appurtenant inflationary growth rates, that we need to come up with innovative ways of keeping the costs of governance at a minimum while engendering a spirit of selflessness in public service.”
He explained that the state government was able to successfully restructure all existing internal loans from an interest rate of 20 per cent to 12 per cent, and in some cases single-digit interest rates.
Governor Sanwo-Olu informed the lawmakers that this resulted in a cumulative cost savings of N12 billion, noting that the state’s debt portfolios would also be held as much as possible in naira to reduce its foreign currency exposure risk.
He stated that while revenue collection remained a major challenge, the government would encourage residents to pay their correct taxes to ensure inclusive development – a major thrust of his administration.
“On our part, we will assiduously work at improving the tax system through revolutionary reforms that enable easy tax collection and payment.
“Another major achievement in the outgoing fiscal cycle is the successful review of the 2018 Land Use Charge Law. The law now accommodates the yearnings of Lagosians for a more friendly, modern, and realistic Land Use Charge Law,” he said.
