Lagos, Senate: Lawmakers have just denied Eko the greatness it deserves.

How do you throw out a bill that will improve the fortunes of your cash cow? The Senate just did.

The Senate has just thrown out a bill that would have granted Lagos, the status of Nigeria's Commercial Capital.

For a parliament that often says it intends to do something about Nigeria's economic recession, this was an opportunity to put the gavel where the mouth is. But it blew it.

The bill was sponsored by Oluremi Tinubu, who represents Lagos Central Senatorial District.

The bill would also have allowed Lagos receive one percent of Nigeria's revenue, aside the State's monthly allocation. This wasn't too much to ask in the circumstances.

Lagos contributed N101.69billion to Nigeria's revenue in the first quarter of 2016; up 4.5 percent from a similar quarter last year.

The Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from Lagos was an impressive N76.06billion in the first quarter of 2016.

Lagos is Africa's 7th largest economy, boasting Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures of $90 billion.

Lagos contributes the most IGR to the federal coffers among the 36 states of the federation.

With oil becoming bad business, Lagos plays host to Nigeria's burgeoning knowledge and innovation class.


By Jude Egbas.
Full story at Pulse NG.