‘There could be mistakes on some items – Gov Sanwo-Olu reacts to outrageous allocations in state budget
The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said no administration is immune to mistakes.
The governor said this why reacting to the outrage from Nigerians after the procurement record released by the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency showed some outrageous amounts were allocated for some items in the state budget.
The governorship candidate of the Action Democratic Congress in Lagos, Funso Doherty, had written an open letter to the state government asking why such amounts of money were allocated. The state procurement records showed the governor approved N7.5 million to replace liquid fragrance in his office and N3 billion to purchase rechargeable fans for the office of his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat. Other contracts awarded by the state’s Public Procurement Agency (PPA) in the 2nd and 3rd quarters of 2023 had included approval of over N440 million for the purchase of a new Lexus LX 600 Bulletproof Sport Utility Vehicle for use in the pool of the Office of Chief of Staff. The office of the Chief of Staff also got N18.5 million for the supply and distribution of 2,000 Noiler chickens across the local government areas and wards in the state.
The governor, in a statement by his spokesman, Gboyega Akosile, noted that the controversy was unnecessary, stressing that the state had nothing to hide in its public expenditure.
“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 a 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 that 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 checks and balances, pointing out that the state had judiciously appropriated funds for projects and services that benefited the residents. He assured that his government will continue to publish its spending and keep it open for public scrutiny.