The Ayobo-Ipaja Local Council Development Area of Lagos State has pledged to ensure transparency, accountability, and inclusive governance in preparing and implementing its 2027 budget.

The LCDA chair, Lukmon Agbaje, made the pledge at the 2027 Budget Stakeholders’ Consultative Forum held on Thursday in Ayobo, Lagos.

Mr Agbaje said the forum was organised to discuss communities’ developmental needs and ensure the 2027 budget reflected residents’ aspirations. He said his administration remained committed to promoting sustainable development across the LCDA.

Mr Agbaje said Nigeria’s changing economic conditions continued to affect government revenue, cost of living and public project implementation. He said the situation required prudent financial management, strategic resource allocation and innovative approaches to governance.

He added that although crude oil remained an important source of government revenue and federal allocation, the economy needed to diversify, and he identified natural gas, solid minerals, agriculture and manufacturing as sectors that could generate additional revenue and employment opportunities.

Mr Agbaje also mentioned that the 2026 budget recorded 28.31 per cent performance in recurrent expenditure and 61.04 per cent in capital expenditure. He added that the overall budget performance stood at 89.35 per cent.

According to him, key economic indicators, including gross domestic product, inflation and exchange rate, must guide the preparation of the 2027 budget. He said the indicators affected the prices of imported equipment, construction materials and essential supplies.

(NAN)