Lagos revenue on the rise while residents’ income remains low – Odunnaike

Lagos State Labour Party governorship candidate, Rotimi Odunnaike, has said the rise in government revenue has not translated into higher household income or improved living conditions for many residents.

Odunnaike made the submission while speaking during an interview with ARISE News on Tuesday, stressing that government revenue and household income were two different economic measures that should not be treated as the same.

According to him, rising revenue gives the government greater financial capacity to fund projects and provide public services, but does not automatically mean that residents are becoming more prosperous.

“So, I think we always confuse two things: government revenue and household income are two different things. Government revenue doesn’t turn into household prosperity,” he said.

The Labour Party candidate said government revenue should instead provide the state with the resources needed to execute projects capable of improving the welfare of residents.

“What government revenue does is it allows the government to have enough money, or have enough to even go and borrow, to do projects that can help the citizens,” he said.

Odunnaike argued that the increase in Lagos’ revenue had not been matched by a corresponding rise in household income, saying the gap was particularly important when assessing the economic wellbeing of residents.

“So, the fact that our revenue is going up doesn’t mean that household income is going up, and that’s what we’re seeing in Lagos. So, government revenue is going up, household income is not going up,” he said.

He also criticised what he described as inadequate public service delivery despite the increase in government revenue, saying residents should be able to see tangible benefits from the resources available to the state.

“Apart from that, public services are not being delivered against that revenue that is going up. And that is what we’re looking to change,” he said.

Odunnaike said his campaign’s “A New Lagos for All” agenda was designed to ensure that government services reached more residents while improving the quality of governance across the state.

“‘A New Lagos for All’ is basically talking about not leaving anyone behind, bringing public services where it needs to be, bringing excellence into governance,” he said.

He said the broader objective of the agenda was to ensure that the state’s economic resources translated into tangible improvements in residents’ quality of life.

Odunnaike is contesting the Lagos State governorship election on the platform of the Labour Party.