2027 Budget: Lagos begins consultations

The Lagos State Government has begun consultations with residents across its five divisions ahead of the preparation of the 2027 budget, The PUNCH reports.

The government also promised to use the exercise not only to identify new demands but to account for the implementation of requests made during the previous budget cycle.

The Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Ope George, disclosed this on Monday during the 2027 Budget Consultative Forum for the Ikeja Division at the Multipurpose Hall, Radio Lagos, Agidingbi, Ikeja.

George said the Ikeja forum was the first in a series of consultations to be held across the state, adding that residents would have the opportunity to identify priorities for inclusion in the 2027 budget.

“Every year, we go around our IBILE Divisions to listen to our citizens and hear what they want to see in their upcoming budget. So, we have started the preparation for the 2027 budget,” he said.

He said the consultation had also been structured to enable the government to return to residents with an account of what had been done with requests submitted during the previous engagement.

“This year, we’ve come in; we’ve given an account of what they asked us for last year. And we’ve shown them what we’ve done. And they’ve given us what they want for the new budget going on,” George said.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, Olayinka Ojo, said the consultation had evolved from a platform where residents simply submitted requests into an avenue for feedback, accountability and evidence-based engagement between the government and communities.

Ojo said the ministry had introduced video presentations documenting completed and ongoing projects across the divisions as part of efforts to show residents the progress made on demands arising from earlier consultations.

She said the approach allowed beneficiaries and community members to provide feedback on the impact of government interventions in their communities, while requests made at the current forums would be documented, reviewed and forwarded to the relevant government institutions.

According to her, requests that were prioritised and approved would subsequently be translated into government interventions through the budget process.

Ojo also identified Community Development Committees and Community Development Associations across the 57 local governments and Local Council Development Areas as important channels for grassroots participation in the process.

She urged residents and community leaders to participate in monitoring projects in their communities during implementation, saying such involvement would strengthen transparency and accountability in the use of public funds.

The consultations cover issues including social protection, data collection and management, monitoring and evaluation, budget implementation and economic planning.

A member of the Lagos State Community Development Council executive and Chairman of the Community Development Committee, Isolo LCD, Adesegun Olatunde, said he had participated in the consultations for nearly eight years and described the process as useful to communities.

Olatunde said not all requests could be implemented because of competing priorities and unforeseen developments, but claimed that a substantial proportion of demands raised by communities had received government attention.

“Most times it’s positive. You know, the budget depends. Other things might come out unexpectedly, which has to be attended to during this section,” he said.

“So most times we’ve been coming for years now. I’ve been coming for close to eight years. And I tell you, at worst, 70 per cent of what we request is attended to, which shows a pass mark,” Olatunde added.

He also welcomed the participation of different groups at the forum, including artisans, youths and community representatives, saying the diversity of participants allowed different interests to be presented during the budget process.

“It is good. If you see everybody here, we have the artisans, the community, the youth; they are all here to give input. Because everybody is important in this state,” he said.

The consultation process is expected to continue across the remaining divisions as the state develops its 2027 budget proposals.