The official portrait of Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu
Eko Hot Blog reports that the Lagos State Government has dismissed insinuations that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is running a one-man show due to the lack of a cabinet more than 30 days after his inauguration.
The governor’s spokesperson, Gboyega Akosile, reacted to the criticism in a statement on Friday.
A legal practitioner, Ebun Adegboruwa, SAN, had written an opinion where he criticised Sanwo-Olu for not constituting a cabinet since he returned to office for a second term in office.
Adegboruwa argued that the governor is running a one-man show that is stymying governance.
Legal practitioner, Ebun Adegboruwa, SAN
However, Akosile responded that Sanwo-Olu has been only 39 days into his second term and has the law on his side.
The governor’s spokesperson also stated that “the wheel of governance is moving progressively” in the state as Permanent Secretaries “are fully in charge.”
“Our attention has been drawn to an unsolicited counsel from Mr. Ebun Adegboruwa, alleging that the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu is running a one-man show, simply because he has not constituted his cabinet yet since he resumed office for the second term,” the statement reads.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Nigerian Constitution is very clear about the number of days required for a State Governor to send his nominees for various cabinet offices to the State House of Assembly for legislative approval.
“According to the fifth alteration (No. 23), the bill seeks to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to require the President and Governors to submit the names of persons nominated as Ministers or Commissioners within sixty days of taking the Oath of Office for confirmation by the Senate or State Houses of Assembly; and for related matters.
“Governor Sanwo-Olu has only spent thirty-nine days in the office and therefore, has not flouted any law.
“Secondly, we must remind Mr. Adegboruwa, that Lagos remains a model State, where governance issues are taken very seriously and as such, his comparison of the State with other States he used in his submission is laughable. We also need to remind the erudite lawyer that Osun State Governor, Mr. Ademola Adeleke was sworn into the office in November, 2022, making it more than seven months before he sent his Cabinet nominees to the Osun State House of Assembly.
“We must also enlighten Mr. Adegboruwa, that with or without the Cabinet members at the moment, the wheel of governance is moving progressively in Lagos.
“The Permanent Secretaries are fully in charge as the Chief Accounting Officers of their individual Ministries and they are working tirelessly with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in conjunction with the Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, Secretary to the State Government, the Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor as well as the Head of Service, to achieve the administration’s vision of a Greater Lagos Rising anchored on the THEMES+ agenda.”
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