Lagos GAC Intervenes In Row Over Confirmation Of Commissioners, Meets Sanwo-Olu, Obasa

• The Lagos executive and legislative branches have been at loggerheads for about a week.

• The row was as a result of the legislature’s failure to confirm some commissioner nominees.

• The situation has spurred reports of a rift between the governor and lawmakers.

Eko Hot Blog reports that the Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC), the highest decision-making body of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, has met with State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa.

The governor and speaker have been in the news over the of refusal the house to confirm 17 of the 39 commissioner nominees recommended by the governor.

Six former commissioners who served in the cabinet of Sanwo-Olu during his first term were among those not cleared by the assembly.

Gbenga Omotoso (information and strategy); Akin Abayomi (health); Cecilia Dada (Women affairs and poverty alleviation); Olalere Odusote (energy resources); Folashade Adefisayo (education) and Sam Egube (economic planning and budget) were former commissioners who served in the first term of the governor that were not cleared by the assembly.

Reacting to criticism of the decision of the house, Obasa said there is no fight between the lawmakers and the governor.

“There is no basis for the house or myself to fight the governor. The governor is a friend and colleague in serving Lagos state,” he said.

“We will continue to work together and there is no reason to fight. But we have constitutional rights to say yes or no to his nominees.”

However, the speaker failed to state the reasons for the lawmakers’ decision to reject the nominees.

Meanwhile, in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) Wednesday evening, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on New Media, Jubril Gawat, revealed that Sanwo-Olu and Obasa met with members of the council together during the visit.

The meeting occurred at governor’s office, Lagos House, Marina, Lagos.

“Today at the Lagos house, Marina. Governor Jide Sanwo-Olu, speaker Mudashiru Obasa together with GAC members,” Gawat wrote on his X page.

However, the details of the meeting were yet to be made public as of the time of this report.

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