Lagos Assembly opens up on awarding N17bn gate contract

The Lagos State House of Assembly has dismissed allegations by an anti-corruption coalition that it awarded a N17 billion contract for constructing the Assembly’s gate.

In a statement on Thursday, the Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Security, and Strategy, Mr. Stephen Ogundipe, described the claims as unfounded and politically motivated.

The allegations were raised in a petition submitted to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) by the Lagos State Anti-Corruption Coalition, which called for a probe into the House’s leadership.

Reacting to the petition, Ogundipe clarified that the gate project in question had been completed over three years ago, and there had been no recent contract of such nature. He emphasized that the claims were baseless and designed to tarnish the Assembly’s reputation for political purposes.

Ogundipe further noted that the Assembly follows the state government’s procurement processes for all projects, adding, “It is preposterous to think that in Lagos, contracts operate like witchcraft and its nocturnal posting.”

He said;

“For a few days now, there have been some attempts to bring to disrepute the exemplary successes of the Assembly and its leadership.

“Our silence over some of the issues raised by a group which tags itself as the Lagos State Anti-Corruption Coalition, a hitherto unknown body claiming to be fighting corruption, does not amount to consent.

“However, because we did not want to glorify what looked like information sourced from a beer parlour or joint with a response, we feel the need to lay the facts bare because of the regard we have for Nigerians and the belief in posterity.

“The Lagos State House of Assembly is an institution that bases its activities on facts and realistic evidence, not grapevine as put forward by the fictional group.

Just one gate?
“For instance, how will any person or group even imagine that such a humongous amount as N17 billion could be allocated for the construction of ‘a gate’? Just one gate?

“Even if the gate is made of gold, would it cost such an amount? To the group that decided to rush to the public without thinking through or double-checking what it said it sourced through ‘grapevine’.

“It is good to know that there was no project like that at the House of Assembly as claimed. The gates at the House had been fixed over three years ago,” he said.

The chairman said there was actually no need by the group and its traducers to try to pad up their stories with old allegations that had been adjudicated upon and trashed by the court.

He accused the group of trying to “lump everything together to create a make-belief in the eyes of the public”.

Ogundipe reiterated that the Assembly had grown beyond the common standards of excellence, and that residents would continue to work in harmony for the peace, progress and development of the state.