A coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) Thursday alleged that the Lagos State House of Assembly moved to remove the State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, because the governor refused to release the sum of N100 billion the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership in the state demanded for electioneering.
Also lending his voice against
the governor’s plan, the governorship candidate of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, urged the
lawmakers not to plunge the state into chaos with the plan to remove
Ambode.
The Convener of the coalition, Mr. Mark Adebayo, made
the allegation at a world press conference held at the Airport Hotel in
Ikeja, noting that with the removal, it was obvious that the assembly
was becoming a political abattoir for the murder of democracy in
Nigeria.
Coming together under the aegis of Lagos Liberation
Movement (LLM), the CSOs that formed the coalition are the Campaign for
Democracy (CD), United Action for Democracy (UAD), Oodua Peoples
Congress (OPC)(Reformed) and Lagos People’s Assembly (LPA) with a
mandate to stop the assembly from witch-hunting Ambode.
Speaking
at the conference yesterday, the convener alleged that the assembly
threatened to remove Ambode because he refused “to release the sum of
N100 billion tax payer’s money to the party to fund political campaigns.
“It has been alleged that Ambode’s refusal to hand over the state’s
treasury key to the Lagos slave master-in-chief is the current cause of
his travails. His non-compliance with the directive to make available
N100 billion by an insatiable political godfather provoked the current
backlash against the governor.
“We have already put together a
comprehensive petition to the anti-graft agencies and multilateral
organisations on the reckless and irresponsible waste of the state’s
resources by the legislative arm of government in the state.”
He
noted that the coalition was interested in knowing how the Speaker of
the Lagos State Assembly, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, “has been administering
N800 million “running costs” allocated to the assembly monthly.
But
speaking with THISDAY on phone yesterday, the Publicity Secretary, Mr.
Joe Igbokwe, debunked the allegation that the lawmakers and party
leaders demanded N100 billion, noting that it was fake news, which
according to him, should not be taken seriously for any reason.
Igbokwe
said the allegation “is propaganda from the opposition camp. It is not
true that the party leaders demanded such money for the purpose of
funding our campaign. It is fake news, which no person should believe.”
He,
therefore, said the allegation should be dismissed, claiming that it
“is not true. I cannot react to fake news. At times, all sorts of fake
news are being circulated all over the country. It is propaganda against
our party.”
Meanwhile, in a statement by his Directorate of
Media and Publicity yesterday, Agbaje asked the assembly and the APC not
to plunge the state into chaos over moves to remove Ambode, saying the
move was capable of jeopardising the smooth running of the state.
According
to him of course, the way Lagos politics has been structured over the
last two decades, government actions are often dictated by open and
covert objectives.
“That the legislators are hinging their action
on the purported delay of the budget is simply a smokescreen for a very
shameful undertone that the assembly members will not want to make
open. They are yet to tell us their actual motivation for this
superfluous move to shame the governor.
“I received the news of
the impending removal of Ambode with a lot of reservation, especially
with its timing and motive. This is just 19 or so days to the federal
elections, and the governorship, a fortnight thereafter. So the natural
questions to ask are: Why this haste? And what is the motive?” he asked.
Source:- Thisdaylive
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