By Akinwale Kasali
For the immediate past governor of Lagos state, Akinwunmi Ambode things just go from bad to worse everyday. He is being pummelled from left, right and centre.
A few days after Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, raided both his Ikoyi and Epe homes, the Hon. Mudashiru Obasa led Lagos State House Of Assembly has began instituted a panel to probe him.
The All Progressive Congress, APC, dominated Assembly, is probing the purchase of 820 buses by the Ambode Administration.
The lawmaker representing Eti-Osa 2 constituency, Gbolahan Yishawu, informed the House that at an executive and legislative parley held at Golden Tulip in Festac Town, Lagos, two years ago, Ambode informed the kawmajees that 5,000 buses would be purchased by the State Government to ease Lagosians’ stress in terms of transportation.
Yishawu added that N17 billion was proposed for the purchase of the buses by the executive, but was not approved by the assembly.
He, however, stressed that only 820 buses are there for people to see as against the 5,000 Ambode promised to purchase.
Yishawu said the House is worried that in the 2018 and 2019 budgets, the state government proposed N24 billion and N7 billion respectively, but these were not approved. He disclosed that the rest of the buses were still awaiting clearance at the bonded warehouse at the Ports. He emphasised that they were purchased with taxpayers’ money without approval.
He asked the House to investigate the purchase of the buses and other issues surrounding it.
“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 said.
Obasa in his response said: “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. The situation should be addressed. We should get the buses to the roads and save the state from further waste.”
Obasa then set up a committee headed by Fatal Mojeed, representing Ibeju Lekki 1, to look into the matter and report to the house.
The speaker directed the committee to invite the Accountant-General of the state, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transport, and those involved in the purchase for a full investigation so that everybody would know and appreciate the circumstances surrounding the purchase of the buses.
