‘Your life (Ben) has been a living testimony of God’s power and faithfulness’ –Pastor E.A. Adeboye
Tongues wagged, emotions rose, ethnic kite flew as Ben Ifeanyi Akabueze was appointed a commissioner in the cabinet of Lagos State in January, 2007 by Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the then Governor of Lagos State. Those who could not fathom why a non indigene of Lagos and a person of Igbo extraction should be appointed a commissioner became more irked by his deployment to the vital Ministry of Economic Planning & Budget.
All these soon fizzled out and gave way to praises and commendations as Ben settled down to work bringing his wizardry in fund management to bear and introducing budgetary and planning reforms that impacted positively on resource management thereby ensuring better service delivery to the people of Lagos State.
The unprecedented growth of the State since 2007 has attracted commendation from home and abroad. That Akabueze is an integral part of the rapid development that Lagos State has witnessed in all sectors such as infrastructure renewal, socio-economic growth and security is to state the obvious.
Infrastructure renewal and development is undoubtedly critical to socio-economic transformation, improved standard of living and service delivery. Ben came to office with a career objective centred on leadership role in financial services institution that is committed to market prominence through superior service delivery and relationship management. This personal commitment fully aligned with the mission of the ministry he superintends, which is to manage resources optimally for socio-economic development of Lagos State to put him in a vantage position to key into the revolution of the government he serves.
Following his appointment, he introduced reforms to the budget preparation and development planning of the State. The budget of the State grew steadily from N274.8bn in 2007 to N403.4bn in 2008, N450.7b in 2011, to the current N489.690bn in 2014. The budget performance also indicated a rise from 70 percent in 2007 to 80 percent in 2010, 89percent in 2012 while the 2014 budget has recorded 86 percent performance in the half year with a strong indication that it would do better by the end of the year. This trend is, to say the least, unprecedented in this clime.
His skill in fund management, sincerity of purpose and commitment to managing resources for socio-economic development of Lagos State manifested in the capital/recurrent ratio in budgetary allocation. While budget for capital expenditure (the fund meant for project execution) was 47percent and recurrent accounted for 53percent in 2007, the table turned in favour of capital expenditure from 2008 when the ratio became 60:40, 61:39 in 2009, 53:47 in 2012 and 58:42 and 52:48 in 2013 and 2014 respectively. The effect of this is the monumental bridging of the infrastructural deficit in the State with its multiplier effects on all facets of human endeavour.
As part of the reforms, planning of the development of Lagos State has also undergone transformation with the introduction of the Lagos State Development Plan 2012-2025 to provide overall strategic direction for the growth and development of the State. It also provides a framework by which all sectors of the economy-public, private and civil society- can direct their energies and contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of the people of the State.
It is common knowledge that prior to his appointment in 2007, the State Government’s planning and budgeting had been based on an annual cycle. The plan for activities within the State was predicated on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Lagos State Economic Empowerment & Development Strategy (LASEEDS), Vision 20:2020 and Ten Points Agenda (TPA). All these were consolidated to have a single strategic document to guide economic development. Considering that, in the past, there was no plan that is all encompassing and one which could serve as a generic guide to planning in all MDAs, it will not be out of place to commend the ingenuity that Ben Akabueze has brought into the planning of the State’s development.
Ben also brought inclusiveness into government business by introducing the budget consultative forum to interface with the public and get their views on what they want at the beginning of the budget preparation cycle. Budget analysis, which is also conducted to shed more light on the budget components (immediately the budget gets the assent of the Governor), complemented with the quarterly budget performance review to intimate the public with the budget performance.
The organisation of the world class Lagos Economic Summit (Ehingbeti) and the diligent execution of the resolutions and recommendations emanating there from, to the benefit of the State, are a direct result of the importance that Ben attaches to consultation and taking informed decisions.
Born in Maiduguri on September 19, 1959, Ben attended St. Joseph’s College, Sasse-Buea, Cameroon he finished in 1976 and proceeded to Dennis Memorial Grammar School, Onitsha where he passed his General Certificate of Education Advanced Level in 1976. He got admission to the prestigious University of Lagos in 1979 where he graduated with First Class Honours in Accounting in 1982. An alumni of the Lagos Business School where he studied Advanced Management Programme in July, 1995; he is a Fellow of both the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and Institute of Credit Administrators.
Ben, a polished and accomplished financial guru started his working career in 1982 when, as a Youth Corps Member, he worked as Accounting Supervisor at the Nigerian Television Authority in 1982. He joined Pricewater House in 1983 and served as Assistant Auditor till 1985.
The diligent and hard working Akabueze was an acting Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Union Securities from 1993 to September, 1994. He was Managing Director of NAL Bank Plc, Executive Director, Corporate Banking of Sterling Bank where he retired in 2006 and established BIA Consulting Ltd. (A Business and Financial Services Advisory Firm).
An ordained Pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God and a true and God fearing Nigerian, his shrewd management of the resources put in his care put a lie to the belief that it takes indigenes of a State to be honest, steadfast and committed to her growth and development. I therefore seize the opportunity of his 55th birthday to wish our dear, Pastor Ben, long life, good health and many more years in the service of God and humanity. Happy Birthday!
Phillip Isakpa
