Lagos – Protesters under the aegis of Lagos Youth Vanguard (LYV) on Tuesday stormed the Lagos State House of Assembly, demanding the probe of former governor of the state, Akinwunmi Ambode, over alleged corrupt activities.
The protesters, who chanted various songs, were led by their patron and president, Rasak Olokoba and Ibrahim Ekundina, respectively.
They also displayed placards with various inscriptions such as: ‘Ambode, submit yourself for probe’, ‘Ambode must be probed’, ‘EFCC do your job’, ‘Ambode awarded fake contracts’, ‘Ambode, return Lagos money’, amongst others.
In a leaflet distributed by the group, it alleged that Ambode deliberately laid landmines through improper, inappropriate, and insufficient contents in his handover note that should have served as a guide for the current administration.
While accusing the former governor of flouting so many government procedures, the group maintained that he (Ambode), while in office, refused to abide by the procurement laws.
He was also accused of wrong priority in policies and programmes and abandoning the track that could have brought about development in the state.
Olokoba, while speaking with journalists, said his group had watched events in the last 90 days and that there were clear indications that the former governor had been doing things to disrupt the activities of the current administration.
According to him, “For every government that is going out, you leave a template for the coming government to succeed. Ambode handed over a very rickety handing over note that cannot assist the current administration.
“If you go round the state today, you will see that there is no governor that would inherit such state and the people of the state would be happy with him, but thank God, the goodwill enjoyed by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is still intact, if not, by now, the people of Lagos State would have been complaining bitterly.
“Put all these things together and add it to what the EFCC said recently that they were going to conduct an investigation into the activities of the former governor, you would see that we are right.”
He insisted that anybody could be investigated anytime, but that they were shocked by what happened at the residence of former governor in Epe, when the operatives of the EFCC wanted to search his residence.
He described what happened there as very ungentlemanly, adding that this was not how statesmen behave, and that statesmen respect institutions, and apparatuses of the government.
“Also, the parliament has promised us that they were going to look into the activities of the last administration, but we have not heard anything from them.
“I am a tax payer, I pay education tax, I pay the salaries of the governor from my tax, and I must be concerned about how the money is being spent, likewise other Nigerians.
“The former governor must be accountable for how he ran the affairs of the state in the last four years. We want him to clear his name. Gone are the days when people just hear of probe and you don’t take it up,” he said.
He added: “We call for his probe and investigation with a view to apportioning penalty and dishing out appropriate penalties. We want to assure the good people of Lagos State, including all the people that care about Lagos that we will continue to pursue every legitimate means until justice is done.”
Addressing the protesters, a state lawmaker, Rotimi Olowo (Shomolu 1), stated that the protesters were right and that their protest was constitutional.
Olowo emphasised that the House had commenced investigations into the government of Ambode and that they would look into the petition as a House and do their job as expected.
The lawmaker added that they were having a committee meeting shortly before the protesters arrived to look into the finance of the state and ensure that the roads in the state are motorable.
