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Purchase of 820 buses: We never indicted Ambode, say former Commissioners

Assembly committee bows to Court ruling, adjourns probe of Ambode

Olusegun Banjo and Olawale Oluwo, former commissioners of Economic Planning and Budget, Energy and Mineral Resources, respectively, in the administration of former governor of Lagos State, 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, Shukrat Umar 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 Thursday, noting that the reports were a deliberate misrepresentation of what transpired at the proceedings of the investigative committee probing Ambode administration.

The Speaker of the Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa had constituted a nine-man ad-hoc committee under the chairmanship of Fatai Mojeed (Ibeju-lekki I) to probe the procurement of 820 high occupancy vehicles, which the Ambode administration ordered for under its Bus Reform Initiative (BRI).

He had also claimed that the administration did not seek its approval for the procurement of the vehicles and directed the committee to Banjo and other top functionaries that were involved to state their roles in the purchase.

At the proceedings, reports had claimed that Banjo indicted the former governor and that Ambode side-lined 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.

However, in his statement, Banjo 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.

Read also: 820 buses: Lagos Assembly to publish Ambode’s invitation

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 him 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 purchase had already been on the ground, pointing out that the bus issues were not contained in the budget he managed, though could have been in earlier budgets.

According to him, “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 journalismimpartial 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 other weaknesses of the ministry’s operating system in a professional manner.

In his own statement, Oluwo acknowledged that he attended the second session of the committee proceedings on October 15 alongside former Commissioner for Agriculture, 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, expressed dismay over media reports that Suara and Oluwo said that many of the projects, including Oshodi Transport Interchange and others were never captured in the state budget.

“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.