By Bayo Bernard
At last, Governor of Lagos state Akinwumi Ambode had his way with the Lagos state house of assembly as the impeachment plot against him has now been laid to rest.
At a meeting held yesterday among top guns in the All Progressives Congress, APC in the home of a former governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s home in Lagos, the governor and the lawmakers agreed to bury the hatchet.
Top APC Leaders Attended the Meeting
Governor Ambode and the Speaker attended the peace meeting. Others are the APC governorship candidate, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Deputy Governor, Oluranti Adebule, Professor Adefuye, a staunch APC leader in the state and close ally of Tinubu.
Speaking after the meeting which lasted more than two hours, Tinubu disclosed that the impeachment plot has been buried.
The ex-Lagos helmsman said the two groups have now agreed to work together in the interest of peace and the need to move the state forward.
Tinubu Directs Assembly To Stop Impeachment
Tinubu said “We held a meeting on behalf of Lagos, the entire Lagosians, our party – APC leadership. In the last one week, there has been noise about the conflict between the executive and the State Assembly. It is of great concern to all of us and particularly what Lagos represents across the country.
We have been able to look into the source of various conflicts which is not uncommon in politics; what is the genesis of those problems?
We are one big family and as a big family, you will have some rumples, you will have some disagreement.
As leaders of the party, we have looked into that; we have looked into areas where we have to compromise, discuss and build the institutions, encourage the institutions to really do what is right.
We have resolved there is no question of impeachment in Lagos State.
Let the two arms of government communicate and continue to respect one another and build consensus and understanding. That is all about politics.
Conflict and conflict resolution mechanism is inbuilt in any political system unless leaders are lacking in their responsibilities,”
But the peace accord did not come easy as some APC leaders who attended the parley told the magazine.
Recall that the Assembly led by Speaker Mudasiru Ajayi Obasa had penultimate week, summoned the governor to appear before it to explain why his government refused to bring the 2019 appropriation bill for approval.
Apart from the governor, some commissioners were also directed by the lawmakers to appear before them.
The lawmakers accused the state helmsman of spending the state funds without appropriation, an offence they warned could lead to his impeachment from office.
The governor was supposed to appear before the House of Assembly today, as the seven day ultimatum given to him expired on Monday.
But in a twist of event, the threat of impeachment was mitigated in the face of serious intervention by APC leaders in the state, who, the magazine learnt had warned the leadership of the party of serious consequence for the party in the upcoming governorship and presidential elections, if the impeachment threat is not nipped in the bud quickly.
The governorship election is slated for March 2.
According to sources who attended the meeting at the Bourdillon, Lagos home of Tinubu, the meeting was quickly called after Governor Ambode plainly told the lawmakers that he will not appear before them.
One source told the magazine that the governor has threatened “to reveal some secrets about the campaign finances of APC in the state” should the Assembly insisted to go on with the impeachment.
Already, the rumor mill is agog with allegation that the governor has refused to release huge funds demanded by the state APC leadership, for the electioneering campaign of the party’s governorship candidate in the state, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu.
Governor Ambode is unhappy after he was denied APC ticket by the party which preferred Sanwo-olu.
To get back at the party, the governor, it was learned, has promised to starve APC funds for the campaign.
There are allegations in some quarters that the governor is working for the People’s Democratic Party, PDP governorship candidate, Jimi Agbaje.
The state helmsman has plainly denied the allegations.
Ambode Turns Down N40b Request For Campaign
Sources close to the governor told the magazine at the weekend that a whopping sum of N40b was demanded by the party to prosecute the ongoing campaign.
The governor had turned down the request, according to a source close to him because “Governor Ambode insisted that he will not use so much funds from the state coffers for the campaign.
It’s however not true that the governor has not released any money. Where do you think the campaign council in the state is getting money from to do their activities.
Initially, the governor said he will not contribute to the campaign after he was denied the ticket, but after the intervention of the President and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in the crisis, the governor agreed to do his best to support the party,” the aide said.
