By Halimah Olamide
Amidst allegations of fiscal improprieties made by the governorship of the African Democratic Congress, Funsho Doherty, Lagos state Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, has written to the state’s Public Procurement Agency demanding explanations over alleged inaccuracies on the website of the agency.
Doherty had raised the alarm over what he felt were curious expenditure which had been made under the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. Specifically, Doherty had questioned spending of N2bn for the procurement of some recharge fans and other items in the office of the Deputy Governor. Equally qeried was a party N30m monthly allocation to the office of the wife of the deputy governor. But the deputy governor said as wrong as the figures pointed by Doherty were, the figures were actually on the website of the state’s procurement agency. The deputy governor’s demand for explanations were contained in a letter addressed to the office of the Director General of the procurement agency, with reference: ODG/154/T/212 and titled: “Re: Open Letter on Selected Public Procurement by LASG in the Period April to September 2023.”
Signed by the permanent secretary in the deputy governor’s office by the Director of Finance and Accounts in the office, Tola Ekemode, the letter asked the Director General of the procurement agency, Fatai Idowu Onafowote, to provide the public with full details of the procurements.
“It is important to state that, the office did get approval and awarded the provision of supply items (rechargeable fans, rechargeable lights and fridges) for the sum of =N=2,017,840 (Two Million, Seventeen Thousand, Eight Hundred and Forty Naira) and not the =N=2,017,840,000 (Two Billion, Seventeen Million, Eight Hundred and Forty Thousand Naira as reported on the website of your agency, Lagos State Public Procurement Agency, Lagos MEPB Q3 Budget Performance Review referenced by the X (formerly Twitter) account.
“In addition, the report that the office through the Wife of the Deputy Governor spent =N=30,000,000 monthly for outreach to indigents is inaccurate as the amount stated covered the whole year. It is =N=2,500,000 per month.
Same for the Empowerment programme by the Wife of the Deputy Governor which is also =N=2,500,000 per month and not =N=30,000,000 monthly reported.”