The man representing Surulere constituency at the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon Desmond Elliot has confirmed that the State House of Assembly has inaugurated an Ad hoc committee to probe former Governor of the State, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode.
Hon Desmond Elliot taking to his social media page on Wednesday 28th August 2019, posted a photo of himself at the Tuesday’s plenary session when the move was taken, with this caption to show is support:
“At plenary session , the house deliberated on the:
NEED TO INVESTIGATE THE UNAPPROVED 820 BUSES PURCHASES BY GOVERNOR AKINWUNMI AMBODE LED ADMINISTRATION IN 2019.
An Ad hoc committee was set up to carry further the investigation @mudashiruobasa@lagosstategovt @lshaofficial”
This is coming a day after the Lagos State Assembly set up a committee to investigate the purchase of 820 buses said to worth N45billion naira by the administration of former governor Akinwunmi Ambode in the state.
According to the Lagos State Assembly, members said it was important to investigate the purchase of the 820 buses out of the 5,000 buses proposed by Mr Ambode for mass transit in the state, but which was purchased despite objection by the House of Assembly.
In a motion moved by Gbolahan Yishawu (Eti Osa 2), noted that at an Executive/Legislative parley at Golden Tulip in FESTAC in September 2017, Mr Ambode informed the lawmakers that 5,000 buses would be bought by the state government.
The lawmaker stated that the executive proposed to spend N17 billion to purchase the buses in the 2017 budget, but that this was not approved by the Assembly.
“In the 2018 and 2019 budgets, the state government proposed N24 billion and N7 billion respectively, but these were not approved.
“The state government still went ahead to import 820 buses at N7 billion, and out of that, 520 are still awaiting clearance at the ports,” he said.
This latest allegations on former Governor Amode is coming a few days after the Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC) allegedly raided his home over an alleged N9.9billion naira allegedly linked to the former governor.
During Tuesday’s plenary, Mr Yishawu said the House was worried that 520 buses were still awaiting clearance from the bonded warehouse and the Port, waiting to be cleared and that they were purchased with taxpayers’ money without approval.
He urged the House to set up an ad-hoc committee to investigate all the issues relating to the purchase of the buses.
He also asked that the House should investigate the cost of the purchase of the buses and other issues surrounding it to prevent a reoccurrence.
“The state government requested waivers for the importation of the buses and it was not granted.
“The value of the buses were overrated. Some of the buses are still in the ports and they are attracting demurrage.
“N45 billion would be spent on the total purchase of the buses and we need to prevent such an occurrence in the future,” he added.
In his submission, the speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa, said the House needed to prevent waste because the expenditure had been done.
According to him, “the vehicles are in the ports and they have been there for almost a year. “The state will continue to suffer if we allow the buses to stay in the ports.
“We should be the regulators of transporters, the state should not operate the buses.
“How much are we giving the buses out should be addressed. We should get the buses to the roads and save the state from further wastes.”
The House subsequently set up a committee headed by Fatai Mojeed (Ibeju Lekki 1) to look into the matter and report to the House in due course.
Members of the committee, according to the Speaker include Mr Yishawu, Bisi Yusuff (Alimosho 1), Olanrewaju Afinni (Lagos Island 2), Rasheed Makinde (Ifako Ijaiye 2), Yinka Ogundimu (Agege 2), Mojisola Miranda (Apapa 1) and others.
The speaker directed the committee to invite the Accountant General of the state, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transport, and others that were involved in the purchase to state what they knew about it.
He also told them to invite the current Commissioner for Finance, the Managing Director of LAMATA and others.
In his contribution earlier, Yinka Ogundimu (Agege 2) stated that the House needed to investigate every transaction that had to do with the procurement of the buses.
He added that It would become a bad precedent if the House didn’t do anything about the matter.
“A huge amount of money still needed to be paid on the purchase of these buses. Whoever has erred should be brought to book,” he said.
In his part, Rasheed Makinde stated that it was obvious that the last administration did many things wrong in awarding contracts.
Mr Makinde stressed that some of these included Visionscape and the proposed fourth mainland bridge.
“The House rejected the proposal on the buses, yet they went on to spend N45 billion on the project.
“Since we did not approve the contract expenditure is null and void, so the money should be refunded.
“The Account General of the State, Procurement Officer and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transportation must be called to speak on the matter,” he said.
In his view, Rotimi Olowo (Shomolu 1), stressed that the provision of the 1999 Constitution in Section 120 has been flouted with the purchase.
“They told us that they wanted to start a pilot project, yet they went ahead with the project.
“Can we still wait for the vehicles to be in the port and attract demurrage.
“The incumbent governor of the state should ask for waivers from the Federal Government so that we could retrieve the vehicles from the ports,” he said.
Clearly, all the members of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon Desmond Elliot inclusive, who enjoyed a good relationship with the former Governor, have all of a sudden turned their back on him while answering the call from their godfather to probe the man they once praised as a visionary leader and one of the best Governors in Nigeria.
Hon Desmond Elliot who is being dragged for his post on the proposed probe of the Administration of Ex-Governor Ambode, once made a post about the Governor, where he praised him for his good leadership. He had made this post to praise the then Governor Ambode during his birthday celebration. He said:
“The Man AKINWUNMI AMBODE
The mind boggling vision he has set not just for 4 but the next 50 years to make Lagos one of the world’s economic hubs has firmly put him in the annals of history; His groundbreaking achievements in our dear state in such a short period of time (3years)have shown lagosians that he’s indeed an intelligentsia per excellence and the team of accomplished technocrats that he has assembled to make his vision of Lagos Africa’s foremost smart city unprecedented. Today we have become the doyen of infrastructural development, advancement and unfathomable transformation in Nigeria due to his revolutionary leadership.Unlike many others, Akinwunmi Ambode is never too proud to admit he’s human and therefore prone to mistakes , never too proud to say I’m sorry and never too old to try a new vision
He’s practically transforming every sector of the lagos economy, keeping true to his words of an all-inclusive government, thus making Lagos globally competitive in all sectors. From infrastructural development, to a thriving economy that defied the recession, striving to push lagos from the 5th to the 3rd largest economy in africa ,quality primary health care delivery system,you can see a medical centre not too far from where you reside,a robust security network, women and youth empowerment amongst many more, this man with an uncommon contagious passion and drive to lead Lagos to her dreams has far exceeded expectations.
Today Lagos state is fast becoming a global economic player and the envy cynosure of all eyes,honestly I see my head lifted above the clouds when I hear people talk about lagos and her transformation , all thanks to this astute manager of our state’s resources, an epitome of infrastructural development, a quintessential strategist and a man of astounding revolutionary ingenuity. Continue the great work Your Excellency, Governor Akinwunmi #Ambode as you celebrate 55 years of God’s Faithfulness, Happy birthday Sir
Your second term is certain by the grace of God and to borrow the words of our Leader and mentor Ashiwaju #Tinubu , we will work for you” Hon Desmond Elliot had said some months back! .