The Lagos State House of Assembly on Tuesday, October 5, 2021, approved the request of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu to revise the 2021 appropriation law.
Chairman of the House Committee on Budget and Economic Planning, Hon. Gbolahan Yishawu, read the various sectoral allocations on the floor during plenary and announced the new appropriation law as N1,256,567,592,651 trillion on the floor of the house.
According to Yishawu, N513,343,338,737 was approved for recurrent from the consolidated revenue fund.
He added that N743,224,253,914 from the development fund was approved for capital expenditure both for the year ended December 31, 2021.
The Speaker of the Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, subsequently read out the recommendation of the committee on the floor of the House and it was approved through voice votes by the lawmakers.
Obasa then ordered the Clerk of the House, Mr Olalekan Onafeko, to pass a clean copy of the report to the Governor for his assent.
It will be recalled that the Assembly received Governor Sanwo-Olu’s request to amend the 2021 Appropriation Law in September 2021, nine months after its passage.
It will also be recalled that the assembly on December 29, 2020, passed the state government’s N1.164 trillion budget for 2021.
…set to approve training institute for law enforcement agencies
Meanwhile, members of the State Assembly, on Tuesday, agreed that law enforcement agents operating in the state needed to be trained always.
The lawmakers made their positions known as they read for a second time a bill for the creation of law enforcement training institutes in the state.
Speaker of the House, Obasa, who presided over the sitting, described the bill as very important, adding that the proposal should have the stipulations that would make it a good law.
He committed the bill to the House Committee on Judiciary to report in weeks.
Earlier, during a debate on the bill, Hon. Victor Akande, Chairman of the Committee on Judiciary and Public Petitions, said the institute was long overdue.
“Policing in Lagos State has a little lacuna. Thus we have to put up a centre for the training of our own to teach them the modern way of doing it,” he said.
On his part, Hon. Bisi Yusuf, said the institute was necessary because “most of our law enforcement agents do not understand the job. When well implemented, the institute will help to remould the agents.”
He expressed optimism that the success of the institute would make some states of the federation visit the Lagos Assembly to learn about the bill.
In his contribution, Hon. Rotimi Olowo noted that Lagos, being a megacity and economic hub of the country, has some challenges in relation to security.
“There are certain criteria for recruitment. The training institute will be able to look at that area,” he said, adding that the institute would help train enforcement agents on the use of modern technology in intelligence gathering and prosecution.
“Some of our security personnel do not even know how to use the smartphones. So this bill is apt,” he added stressing that the institute would help agents treat people with dignity.
Also contributing, Hon. Sanni Ganiu Okanlawon, said: “I want to suggest that, in making the institute a modern training centre, there should be a board or council made of people who are professionals and with intellect.”
Hon. Yishawu also argued that having an institute to train and retrain law enforcement agents would help them keep abreast of modern ways of securing the society.
For Hon. David Setonji, the bill is the first of its kind among states of the federation.
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