Lagos Ex-Commissioners Deny Indicting Ambode Before Lagos Assembly Panel
LAGOS OCTOBER 18TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Former Commissioner of Economic Planning and Budget, Mr. Olusegun Banjo and his Energy and Mineral Resources counterpart, Mr. Olawale Oluwo in the administration of former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode have denied reports that they indicted former Governor Ambode before an ad-hoc committee of the State House of Assembly.
The Accountant-General of Lagos State, Mrs. Shukrat Umar buttressed the claims of the former commissioners when she appeared before the ad-hoc committee on Wednesday, confirming that the State Executive Council (SEC) approved the budget for the purchase of the 820 vehicles.
The commissioners debunked the reports in separate statements Wednesday night, noting that the reports were a deliberate misrepresentation of what transpired during at the proceedings of the investigative committee probing Ambode’s administration.
The Speaker of the assembly, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa had constituted a nine-man ad-hoc committee under the chairmanship of Hon. Fatai Mojeed (Ibeju-Lekki I) to probe the procurement of 820 high occupancy vehicles, which the Ambode administration under its Bus Reform Initiative (BRI).
He had also claimed that the administration did not seek its approval for the procurement of the vehicles and directed the committee to Banjo and other top functionaries that were involved to state their roles in the purchase.
At the proceedings, reports had claimed that Banjo indicted the former governor and that Ambode sidelined his ministry in the controversialmpurchase of 820 mass transit buses and that the way the ministry was structured under Ambode did not allow him to function well.
In his statement, however, Banjo denied the reports, noting that he did not say anything before the committee to condemn or indict the Ambode administration under which he served as the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning between February 2018 and May 2019.
He explained that he appeared on October 15 before the committee based on a
letter of invitation dated October 11, requesting him “to answer some questions
on the purchase of 820 buses as they relate to the function of the Ministry of
Economic Planning and Budget headed by me
during the last administration.”
At the proceedings, Banjo said he told the committee that he was appointed in February 2018 when the issue of bus purchase had already been on the ground, pointing out that the bus issues were not contained in the budget he managed, though could have been in earlier budgets.
The former commissioner said: “I am deeply saddened and disappointed by such sensationalism by hitherto section of the press and by its uninhibited and deplorable abdication of a basic tenet of professional journalism- impartial reportage.
“I wish to state that I am not in a position to know what exactly transpired
on the issue of the buses as I was not in government when the issue was tabled
and approved by the State Executive Council and neither was I drafted into the
bus Steering committee on assumption of duty in
February 2018.
“My response to questions asked by the committee under oath was intended to
explain technical issues pertaining to the operations of the Ministry and
explain the anomalies they noted and seek explanations to, and nothing said by
me there was intended to or said in any manner as to
condemn or indict anyone.”
However, Banjo claimed that he brought to the attention of the ad-hoc committee
that the operating system of the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning
should be reviewed, claiming that he pointed out mentioned other weaknesses of
the ministry’s operating system in a
professional manner.
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Posted by News Rangers
on Oct 18 2019. Filed under National.
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