Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has downplayed concerns over the state’s rising debt profile, assuring the public that Lagos remains within acceptable debt limits.
Currently, Lagos holds the highest debt among Nigeria’s states, both in foreign and domestic obligations. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that in Q1 2024, Lagos recorded the highest domestic debt at N929.41 billion, followed by Delta State with N334 billion.
However, speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, Governor Sanwo-Olu said there was no cause for alarm, as Lagos’ debt ratio is still below the standard threshold of 40 percent.
“The standard debt ratio we are meant to meet is about 40%, but today we are below 30%. We are at about 29 or 28%, so we are not even close to that limit,” he stated.
Back in February, the governor indicated that Lagos had the capacity to handle a debt burden of up to N20 trillion, emphasizing that this should be viewed as an investment for the state’s future. “So, the challenge around this N2 trillion is just a number. In fact, Lagos has the capacity to manage N20 trillion. Last budget cycle, my team proposed a budget of N6 trillion, but we settled for N2 trillion. This demonstrates the state’s strength and potential.”
Governor Sanwo-Olu also highlighted Lagos’ significant budget growth over the past five years, noting that when he assumed office, the budget stood at around N620 billion, but has since expanded to N2.3 trillion.
“We are likely to close this year with a budget of around N2.5 trillion. In the past five years, we’ve tripled the state’s budget. Moreover, we consistently achieve about 95% budget performance annually, and for this year, we are already over 90%,” he added.