29th December, 2010
Simon Ateba
Activists, under the aegis of Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, CACOL, yesterday scored Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, low on rural development in the state.
The activists, at a press conference in Lagos, South-West Nigeria, claimed that they just returned from an independent evaluation of the Fashola administration in all the council areas.
Their investigation, they said, shows that apart from highbrow areas such as Victoria Island, Ikoyi and some parts of Ikeja, the administration’s performance has been woeful in the majority of council areas.
The activists noted that some roads have been reconstructed several times during Fashola’s administration, adding that the solar powered lights in Ogba, Ikeja and other parts of the state have all collapsed.
They said that it was unreasonable for the governor to blame the poor state of roads in the state on rainy season.
‘‘Is Lagos State only about Ikorodu Road or some roads in Lagos Island? Is it only about flowers in highbrow areas? What about the education and the health sectors that have completely collapsed? We are not impressed,’’ the Chairman of CACOL, Comrade Debo Adeniran, who read a prepared statement at the conference said.
‘‘Thousands of students have been at home for months and medical doctors have been at loggerheads with the governor for a long time. Our evaluation shows that this administration has not been impressive.
‘‘The forum accentuated that 90 percent of Lagos roads are at various levels of disrepair as they cave in, flood, and are ridden with bumps, craters and potholes. School buildings are leaky, lacking in necessary facilities, equipment and materials and hospitals are without necessary equipment, drugs and well motivated personnel,’’ Adeniran added.
The activists said that there is no evidence on ground to show that budget is being effectively implemented.
‘‘There is no empirical evidence on the ground to confirm diligence budgetary implementation. The state government has about N23 billion every month at its disposal and we are saying that the achievements are not commensurate with the allocation. We see media blitz about some projects but once the media are gone, the same project is given to another person,’’ Adeniran said.
Meanwhile, the activists said that they were appalled that when allegations of financial impropriety were levelled against the state governor, instead of clearing his name, Fashola went to court to stop the State House of Assembly from investigating him.
‘‘This smacks of arrogance in governance but it seems that our government cares less about what we the people think about how well or otherwise we are governed.
‘‘Those we entrusted with the reins of government seem to believe that they have the power, influence and think that they don’t owe us any explanation about their stewardship. CACOL in collaboration with the People’s Action for Democracy (PAD) think they are wrong.
‘‘If the hands of the governor and his crew that are running the affairs of the state are clean, wouldn’t they have addressed the issues raised by various groups and news media?’’ Adeniran queried.
Meanwhile, Governor Fashola, while on a tour of some completed projects across the state yesterday, slammed his critics.
He described them as cynics who did not see anything good in what he is doing to take the state to greater height.
