immediate past Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, on Thursday
refused to answer questions on the allegations of corruption levelled against
him.
Fashola has been under intense public condemnation for approving some
ridiculous contracts during his tenure according to a document released by the
Lagos State Public Procurement Agency. Some contract are N139m on two boreholes
at the Lagos House, Ikeja, and another N78.3m for the upgrade of a personal
website.
Ironically, Fashola, who was the guest speaker at the 16th Bishop Mike Okonkwo
Annual Lecture, declined to answer questions about the allegation soon after he
had urged Nigerians to hold their leaders accountable always.
The event, which was held at the Shell Hall of the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos
Island, was titled, ‘The Nigerian political Class and the Citizen’s Quest for
Good Governance.’
The governor said most Nigerians failed to hold their political leaders to
their campaign promises after elections.
During the question-and-answer session a journalist from The SUN, Mr.
Chika Abanobi, noted that Fashola was right to urge Nigerians to hold their
leaders accountable.
He, therefore went on to, ask an obviously embarrassed Fashola to respond to
the allegations of corruption leveled against him.
Some of the special guests, which included the host Dr. Mike Okonkwo, the
presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission, were not comfortable
about the question and tried shut the journalist down.
Popular comedian, Tee A, who was the compere of the event, took a jibe at the
reporter saying: “Mr. SUN, continue standing in the Sun.”
Fashola, who was taken aback by the journalist’s audacity, Then responded, “To
the man in The SUN, I don’t respond to allegations on the pages of newspapers.
Fashola later reeled out the achievements of his administration. He said the
restriction on commercial motorcycle reduced motorcycle related deaths in the
state from 15 per month to 3 per month.
“Some people felt that we were anti-poor. But let us look at the result of the
policy. The 15 deaths per month dropped first to three per month and later to
one per month and later there were no reported deaths in the whole of 2014.
“The over 600 reported accidents dropped to about 100 accidents monthly (83 per
cent) and the Commissioner of Police reported an 85 per cent drop in crime over
a 10-month period of the enforcement of the law.
“For those who say this is not good governance, I will refer them to Section 14
(2) (b) and (c) of the 1999 Constitution.”
