Lagos and Kano States are collaborating to get an extra one per cent of revenue allocation for their megacity status.
This was revealed by the Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Danguje, in a statement issued on Tuesday by his Chief Press Secretary, Abba Anwar.
In the statement, Gov Ganduje said that Lagos and Kano States were making a demand for one per cent in the nation’s new revenue allocation formula.
Ganduje was said to make the case when his Lagos State counterpart, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, paid a condolence visit over the death of Aliko Dangote’s brother, Sani Dangote.
Ganduje said, “looking at the population size of Kano and Lagos states and other similarities of megacities, both states demand 1 per cent in the nation’s new revenue allocation formula. We have already made our submissions.”
He noted that the two states were lucky to have the highest number of members of the House of Representatives in the country.
Ganduje pointed out that both Kano and Lagos States have 24 legislators each in the Green Chamber.
Babajide Sanwo-Olu is said to have asserted that both states were megacities.
“While Lagos is the most populous city in Nigeria and in West Africa, Kano is the second after Lagos,” Sanwo-Olu said.
He continued, “We have similarities and we also have the same problems.”
“(There is the) problem of managing population, the problem of providing social services to people, and you cannot determine who will use your facilities, your services because people are coming into our cities for almost 24 hours,” the Lagos State governor pointed out.
Babajide Sanwo-Olu also spoke about meeting the demands of population migrations: “Every second, people are entering the two cities of Lagos and Kano, and you have no control over that. They also have to get security services. Since there is now an attempt to review the revenue formula in Nigeria, Lagos and Kano are demanding 1 per cent. That will enable us to take care of the circumstances of megacities.”
Lagos State is a mega-city with an estimated population of 16–21 million people.
Because of the challenges of meeting up with such a teeming population, the Lagos State government has had to grapple with numerous challenges.
As such, policy initiatives have been directed at the provision of environmental infrastructure which includes drainage and sewage systems.
Other policy targets are waste management, green areas, the reduction of pollution, slum reclamation, multimodal-transportation systems, the Lagos bus rapid transit system, traffic law, security-trust fund, disaster management, low-cost housing, health care, safety-infrastructure, public health financing, health promotion and disease prevention.
