The Lagos State Governance Advisory Council, the highest political advisory body of the All Progressives Congress in the state, on Wednesday, met with the Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, behind closed doors at the Lagos House, Marina.
The Wednesday meeting may not be unconnected to the rejection of 17 cabinet nominees out of 39 sent by Sanwo-Olu to the Assembly for confirmation and ratification.
The Assembly, last Wednesday, confirmed 22 out of the 39 cabinet nominees sent by the governor for screening.
Obasa, who presided over the day’s plenary, said the confirmation followed a rigorous and detailed screening of the nominees by an ad hoc committee led by the Chief Whip of the House, Fatai Mojeed.
Obasa commended the committee for its effectiveness and urged the confirmed nominees to always remember that they are in office to serve the people of the state and not individuals.
Seventeen nominees were, however, rejected during the confirmation which was done through a voice vote as Obasa mentioned the name of each of the nominees.
The lawmaker representing the Ikorodu Constituency II in the House, Aro Abiodun, when contacted by our correspondent on why the 17 nominees were rejected, said he could not speak for the House but only for his constituency.
Also, when contacted by The PUNCH, the chairman of the screening committee and Chief Whip of the House, Mojeed, simply said in a text message, “It was a decision of (all) 40 members (of the House).”
However, a former member of the House who pleaded anonymity said such rejection could be for several reasons, noting that “A nominee may be rejected for several reasons. It may be for not having the (APC) party membership card or for presenting a controversial qualification. Other reasons could be security-related or criminal records, unexplained dismissal from office, among others.”
Asked if there would still be an opportunity for the rejected nominees to be cleared later, the ex-lawmaker said, “No. They won’t be cleared. The governor will have to send other names.”
Meanwhile, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Sanwo-Olu, Gboyega Akosile, in a telephone chat with The PUNCH late Wednesday said the outcome of the screening and confirmation had yet to be transmitted to the governor, hence the governor had yet to know the reason for the reported rejection of some nominees.
“Mr Governor has not received it officially, but we are just hearing from the media. So, we will wait for when the Speaker transmits it to the governor, then we will know the appropriate reaction from the governor,” Akosile said.
Meanwhile, there were speculations that the governor and the Speaker of the House were at loggerheads and that the rift between them might have been responsible for the rejection of the 17 nominees.
The rejection also attracted outcries from different quarters in the state, with some alleging religious reasons while others said it was owing to political reasons.
Speaking on the development during Monday’s plenary, Obasa stressed that there was no going back on the rejection of the 17 cabinet nominees by the Assembly.
He also alleged that there were plans by some unnamed persons to attack him and other lawmakers over the screening and rejection.
“Before today, I had been reliably informed of the plan to attack the Speaker based on the decision of the House concerning the nominees of the governor, particularly the rejected ones,” Obasa said, adding “We don’t want instigation and conflicts. The Executive and the House are working together. We are brothers and colleagues; we will continue to work together but we need to caution fourth columnists not to instigate any crisis. And those that are living in glass houses need to be careful.”
In what appeared to be a truce meeting between the governor and the Speaker, the governor’s CPS, Akosile, attaching videos of a photo session of the governor, the Speaker, and the GAC members, posted on his X handle, “Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Mr Speaker. Mudashiru Obasa and GAC members today after a meeting at Lagos House, Marina. This is Lagos, a place where the finest democratic culture reigns supreme for a Great Lagos Rising.” (Punch)
