Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governor of Lagos State, came under heavy fire for approving N7.5 million to replace the liquid fragrance in his office and N3 billion to buy rechargeable fans for his deputy’s workspace, Obafemi Hamzat.
In 2023, the Public Procurement Agency (PPA) of the state awarded extra contracts in the second and third quarters. Significantly, a new Lexus LX 600 Bulletproof Sport Utility Vehicle approved for usage in the Chief of Staff’s pool exceeded N440 million in value.
A supplementary allocation of N18.5 million was made to the Chief of Staff’s office to purchase and distribute 2,000 hens throughout the state’s wards and local government units.
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Additionally, the government approved spending N152 million to repair the water supply at Iduganran Palace, the Oba of Lagos’ ceremonial residence. Additionally, N581 million has been budgeted for the renovation of Saint Andrews Anglican Church in the state’s Oke-Popo region, according to budgetary records.
A total of N30 million was set aside inside the deputy governor’s office for the monthly outreach initiative that the deputy governor’s wife spearheaded to help underprivileged residents. The same office also managed to acquire an additional N30 million for an empowerment initiative.
According to Anaedoonline.ng, Funsho Doherty, the Action Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate for governor of Lagos in 2023, voiced concerns about several components of these contracts in response to these events. In an open letter to Governor Sanwo-Olu, Doherty had openly expressed his queries and worries and asked for a review of particular projects.
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“I just wrote an open letter to the governor on Public Procurement awards reported by LASG for the 2nd and 3rd quarters of 2023, highlighting a number of issues for further scrutiny and remedial action.
“Judicious use of public funds is always important and is especially so now,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Dr. Abimbola Oyarinu, a public policy specialist, stated that it is regrettable that the administration is obtaining lavish packages while requesting that the populace bear the hardships of the land.
Nonetheless, he claimed that Nigerians were paying for their deeds.
“The truth is, I don’t blame the government; I blame the people. The people will always get the leaders they deserve. In spite of the inflation and the fact that an average Nigerian can no longer eat as a human any more, our government has refused to adapt to the reality.
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“You can no longer blame the government; the people are culpable. It will be business as usual because people don’t realise the implications of this mismanagement.
“Rather than hold the government accountable for lack of basic amenities, we have chosen to blame the devil because religion and government are in the marriage of defrauding Nigerians.
“The next election will come, these same people will wipe up ethnic and religious sentiments,” he said.
A social crusader, Olufemi Ajayi, said the contracts showed the government’s insensitivity to the plight of the people.
“How can you budget over N7m to buy air fresheners at a time when the people you are leading are struggling to eat?” he queried.
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