We Never Indicted Ambode Before Lagos Assembly Panel, Say Ex- Commissioners

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 Lagos State
governor Akinwunmi Ambode, have denied reports that they indicted
Ambode before an ad-hoc committee of the state House of
Assembly.

The Accountant-General of Lagos State, Mrs. Shukrat Umar, has
also 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 Assembly Speaker, Hon. Mudashiru Obada, had constituted a
nine-man ad-hoc committee under the chairmanship of Hon. Fatai
Mojeed (Ibeju-Lekki I) to probe the procurement of 820 vehicles by
the Ambode administration under the Bus Reform Initiative
(BRI).

The Assembly had also claimed that the administration did not
seek approval from the lawmakers for the procurement of the
vehicles, and directed the committee to invite Banjo and other top
functionaries that were involved to state their roles in the
purchase.

Reports had claimed that Banjo indicted the former governor,
saying Ambode sidelined his ministry in the controversial purchase
of 820 mass transit buses and that the way the ministry was
structured under Ambode did not allow him to function well.

Banjo, in a statement yesterday, however, 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 purchases had
already been on the ground, pointing out that the bus issues were
not contained in the budget he managed, though it 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
mentioned some weaknesses of the ministry’s operating system in a
professional manner.

He said: “It is pertinent to note that these observations had
earlier been included in my handing over note to the new
administration and as it affects all arms of government and not the
executive alone. I was, therefore, contrary to the impression
sought to be portrayed by the press, not saying anything new that
had not been said before.”

In his own statement, Oluwo acknowledged that he attended the
second session of the committee proceedings on October 15 alongside
former Commissioner for Agriculture, Hon. Toyin Suara, noting that
reports in some sections of the media were not true.

According to him, “Suara and I were called into the conference
room at the same time. The lawmakers asked both of us questions in
the open. While Suara was asked questions about Lagos Rice Mill
Project in Imota, I was asked questions about the LED-UK
streetlights installation, a UK Exim Bank funded project.”

The former commissioner said it was strange “to read reports
that Suara and Oluwo said many of the projects including Oshodi
Transport Interchange and others were never captured in the state
budget. This is rather strange.”

“For the avoidance of doubt, I reiterate that I did not and
could never have indicted former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode. I am a
committed democrat, a loyal team player and a strong believer in
the principle of collective responsibility,” he said.

He noted that the report was “completely false and indeed a
misrepresentation of the proceedings of the ad-hoc committee of the
state House of Assembly.”

Also at the proceedings on Wednesday, the Accountant-General
told the committee that the purchase of the vehicles followed due
process, confirming that the state Treasury Office acted on the
approval of the state Executive Council.

She also insisted that the procurement of the vehicles was “in
line with approval of the state Executive Council. I would not know
whether the Paris Refund Club was discussed at the council meeting
or not.”