Alleged reckless spending: Lagos Assembly summons procurement agency, others

 

 

IBRAHIM QUADRI

 

The Lagos State House of Assembly on Tuesday summoned  the state’s procurement agency over reports of alleged spendings by the Offices of the Governor and the Deputy Governor.

 

The House took tha resolution at a sitting presided over by Speaker Mudashiru Obasa on Tuesday.

 

The Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, had refuted online reports that his office got over N2 billion for the supply of rechargeable fans and lights as well as fridges.

 

Reports that Hamzat got the amount, including N30 million monthly for his wife for outreach purposes, gained attention online, leading to widespread criticism.

 

According to an internal memo addressed to the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency, the deputy governor’s office disclosed that it got N2 million as against the N2 billion being reported.

 

In the memo dated November 20, 2023 and addressed to the Director General, Lagos State Public Procurement Agency, the Office of the Deputy Governor described the open letter containing the figures as “untrue, mischievous, fake and unfounded”.

 

Signed on behalf of the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Deputy Governor, the Director of Finance and Account, Tola Ekemode, described the procurement agency’s claim as a total misrepresentation of facts.

 

It, however, urged the agency to take prompt action in addressing the issue by giving the general public a true account of what was approved for the Office of the Deputy Governor.

 

 

In a bid to address the issue, Obasa, while noting that the executive arm of government had made efforts to declare the story as untrue, it was necessary for the House to look into the issue so as the establish the facts behind the story.

 

“So we call on the committee in charge of procurement to invite the agency and others mentioned and do a thorough job on this in order to establish facts concerning the publications,” the Speaker said.

 

Meanwhile, te House received a letter from Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu seeking the screening and confirmation of six new nominees for cabinet positions.

 

The Clerk of the House, Barr. Olalekan Onafeko, read the letter before the lawmakers quoting the governor as seeking the confirmation of a commissioner-nominee and five nominees in the position of special advisers.

 

However, the letter only named the commissioner-nominee as Mr. Abiodun Ogunleye, while the identities of the nominees for the position of special adviser were not mentioned making the House resolve to write back to the governor for the remaining identities.

 

Obasa, while agreeing with the lawmakers that names should be attached to the letter, said: “it is necessary for us to know who and who would become part of the cabinet.”

 

Reacting earlier, the Deputy Majority Leader of the House, Hon. Adedamola Richard Kasunmu, observed that the letter did not follow the usual procedure of revealing the identities of the nominees.

 

“Thus, the process of not mentioning the names seems like coming through the backdoor,” he said.

 

He was supported by his colleagues, Hon. Ladi Ajomale and Hon. Owolabi Ajani, who noted that the previous lists from the governor had details of the nominees and that this made the screening by the ad-hoc committee easy.

 

“But in this case, it is only the commissioner-nominee that had a name attached to it and this is surprising. Maybe we should also pass information to the governor that the names should be specified,” Ajomale said.

 

.Lagos keeps an open book, procurement controversy misrepresents truth — Sanwo-Olu

 .Addresses ‘discrepancies’ in PPA figures

 

In a swift reaction, the Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has addressed the controversy surrounding a letter written by an opposition politician, which raised concerns about the procurement process in the State.

 

The Governor noted the controversy generated by the letter was unnecessary, stressing that the State had nothing to hide in its public expenditure.

 

Sanwo-Olu spoke on Tuesday, while commissioning the newly built operational headquarters of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) in Ikeja.

 

He said his administration would continue to value objective criticism, but added that some critics hid their “malicious intentions” under the guise of playing political opposition to misrepresent the truth.

 

The Governor pointed out discrepancies in the figures quoted on the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency (PPA) website, which, he said, misled the public and generated controversy.

 

He said: “Over the weekend, we saw on social media how some people can politically turn around all of our attempts to be responsible, transparent and committed to good governance. We don’t have a problem with any individual. We, indeed, acknowledged that this is the way it should be. We appreciate the fact that people can look at us in the face and say you need to do well in this area.

 

 

 

“We don’t have a problem with the originator of the open letter; in short, we like him and we thank him. Indeed, if we are seen as the Government that is transparent and responsible, we should not be shy of criticism. But, it is only when criticism is malicious and is misrepresenting the truth, that is when there will be a problem.

 

 

 

“Officers in Lagos State have come out to show that there could be mistakes on some lines of items. There was a particular issue where an item was meant to be N2 million, but was written as N2 billion. There are many discrepancies which have been corrected by PPA. We are not going to join issues with anyone on social media. All we are committed to is continuous service to the people of Lagos.”

 

 

 

Sanwo-Olu said Lagos had maintained open books for check and balances, pointing out that the State had judiciously appropriated funds to projects and services that benefited the residents.

 

 

 

 

“I lead a team of dedicated public officers, civil servants and a self-motivated team of officials that will always stand tall with anyone across the world. The building we are opening today is a testament to our commitment to responsible public service. This is a building that has been built on time within the budget and judicious expenditure. This is what we stand for in Lagos,” the Governor said.