Eko Foundation berates Ambode, APC spokesman disagrees

The Eko Foundation has accused the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode-led All Progressives Congress (APC) government of running an administration that is not accountable to the citizens of the state.

President of the foundation, Prof. Imran Oluwole Smith (SAN), at a press conference yesterday, also accused the APC government of using government apparatus to frustrate and ‘black it out.’

The foundation says that the last two years of Ambode’s administration have left it horrified, stunned and stupefied by the wastage of state resources by a government that believes that it is truly accountable to no one.

While the foundation said Ambode is operating and governing the state in the manner of a dictator or a medieval King, who can do no wrong, it stated: “It is true that even his (Ambode) cabinet and the State Executive Council (SEC) are rubber-stamp bodies, which have been unable to curtail the excesses and totalitarian posture of a one-man regime that dismisses key government officials without any rational explanation and appoints people without due consideration or consultation with other stakeholders within the party leadership.”

It also accused the government of reckless spending, which it claimed has amounted to huge debts profile for the state.

Smith said: “Despite the huge resources available to Lagos, the issue is not the enormous revenue the state generates coupled with monies received from the Federal Government, but the utilisation of these funds to improve the lives of the people, provide needed infrastructure, upgrade educational institutions, provide needed drugs and medicines in hospitals and generally improve the social welfare and also as a government ensure that the citizens of the state are not daily traumatised by traffic gridlock that makes commuting within the state a day-to-day nightmare.”

Meanwhile, the spokesman of Lagos APC, Mr. Joe Igbokwe, dismissed the allegations on the premise that Ambode is seriously transforming the state through massive projects scattered across Lagos, saying: “There is no way anybody could justify the claim that this government, which is the pride of governance in Nigeria, is wasteful.”