Politics
OGUN 2019 – Confusion in Amosun’s Camp as Gov’s Ogun west succession plan unearth scandals
By – Leke Ojo
– Governors camp in disarray as all OGUN west aspirants fail security check
-looks set to throw contest open between OGUN west and OGUN East zones
– OGUN west leaders kick against planned decision
The wish of every outgoing State governor is to pick his successor even against the wish of his party, people or entire state. The obsession in picking successors is mostly connected to making sure who succeeds them covers their financial misdeeds. The current wish of the occupier of Oke Mosan is giving him sleepless nights cause those he thought he could bank on have let him down.
Earlier in the year it was believed he forwarded five names to the DSS to conduct a thorough security check with the view of picking one in his current chief of Staff, The speaker of the State Assembly, Current house of Reps member for Yewa South/Ipokia, his immediate predecessor and a yet to be identified commissioner.
After an exhaustive security check the Department of State security services submitted a damning report on all five individuals the Governor had requested a security check be conducted on.
On reading the report the Governor went into a State of confusion which resulted in his alarming statement of a wizkid succeeding him. Many are unaware this was diversion to give him time to decide his next line of action.
The report on one of the names stated he was involved in a criminal case of forgery and impersonation which necessitated his return back to Nigeria from a foreign Country, it also stated he and a former legislator were involved in a multi million scandal involving hundreds of millions of padded constituency projects his predecessor put in the budget which became a bone of contention when he succeeded him. Eventually the matter was was settled by a high ranking principal officer in the lower house and both of them were to have pocketed hundreds of millions to the detriment of their constituents.
On the current top legislator in the State it was reported he owned and had invested in multiple downstream depots around the city amongst other choice properties by scheming off the state legistlative budget and allowances of his colleagues in the state assembly for the past 8 years, it was reported it would be near impossible for him to explain all his investments which are not commiserate to his remuneration if he were to be brought before a code of conduct tribunal. He was also alleged to have been involved in illegal bunkering and tampering with meters at his depots, an allegation the DPR was said to be aware of.
The current top aide of the Governor is said to have committed a heinous crime against a lady years ago which is still hanging over his head even if an attempt was made to make the charges disappear and give him a clean slate. Former President Obasanjo was said to have been the one who stepped into the matter owing to his “closeness” to the mother of the aide. Unknowingly the opposition have dug up the case file and contacted the victim with a view to embarrassing the party if he was ever picked as its candidate.
The Commisioner in question is said to be a fugitive from the law with suspect educational credentials which can easily be verifiable and due to the sensitive nature of one of the Govenors forwarded appointees who is currently embroiled in a certificate scandal it would be unwise to put the State in the news again on the same negative trajectory. Moreover, the Commissioner was said to have been involved in a credit card scam while abroad before he ran home.
As the days, weeks and months tick away the party members are of the believe the opposition party is fast gaining momentum and the lack of a clear cut path for the ruling APC in the state on their candidate would be highly detrimental to their party’s performance in next years Gubernatorial polls unless action is taken quick and fast.
Breaking: Speaker Obasa Debunks Allegation Of Spending N17b On Assembly Gate
The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, on Thursday described the allegation that the House spent N17 billion on the fixing of a gate as spurious and funny.
A self-proclaimed group, Lagos State Anti-Corruption Coalition, had accused the Assembly of spending the amount to construct a gate. The group also sought investigation of the claim.
Speaking at plenary, Dr. Obasa said the allegation stemmed from the fear of some people over 2027 which is still more than two years away.
Obasa further debunked the claim that the House spent N200 million on its recently organised 22nd thanksgiving service for staff.
“It is so funny. How much is the allocation of the Assembly in the whole year that we will decide to spend N17 billion on a gate? They even claimed that we expended 200 million on thanksgiving that did not hold.
“We are aware that at a period like this when we are approaching elections in 2027, we should expect such things. I think some people are scared and I don’t know why.
“This House did not and has not embarked on any such project. We are not that reckless. We had our thanksgiving last Friday and dignitaries from various parts of the State attended it,” the Speaker said.
Addressing further claims by the group about the alleged relationship between him and the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, the Speaker denied attending the latter’s screening and confirmation by the National Assembly.
“They said that I was at the National Assembly when they were confirming the EFCC chairman. I want to believe that there are CCTV cameras at the National Assembly to identify those who attended the event. The press must have written about it too. So the group should do more to confirm if I was there.
“This is just to deny the allegations in the interest of the public and not the writers because the writers are not those we should be joining words with,” the Speaker said.
Earlier, the House, through its spokesperson, Hon. Stephen Ogundipe, had addressed the allegations noting that the Assembly bases its activities on integrity, transparency and accountability.
“It is ludicrous the claim about constituency intervention funds and constituency project funds and their handling by Speaker Mudashiru Obasa and Clerk of the House, Barr. Olalekan Onafeko as claimed by the group.
“One would have expected a self-acclaimed anti-corruption crusading group to do its groundwork before jumping across the fence with conviction that it hit a jackpot to malign an institution of repute in the name of politics.
“Simply put, the Lagos State House of Assembly does not have any such funds. The Assembly does not embark on constituency projects. Instead, once every year, the House holds stakeholders’ meetings simultaneously across the state where constituents have the opportunity to tell the lawmakers their expectations and make requests for the betterment of the state.
“These requests and expectations are compiled and sent to the executive arm of government for consideration as inputs in subsequent budgets. If this is what the group takes as constituency intervention or project funds, we are sure this explanation has given the required education, moreover, it is common knowledge that it is the responsibility of the Executive arm to execute such projects,” the earlier statement by Ogundipe read.
Eromosele Ebhomele
Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
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