More facts have emerged on why the Lagos State House of Assembly rejected 17 of the 39 cabinet nominees of Governor Babajide Sanwoolu.
In an event that was unprecedented in the state’s history, the House of Assembly turned down the confirmation of the government’s nominees, a development that has left many stakeholders shocked.
The affected nominees included Professor Akin Abayomi, Gbenga Omotosho and Sam Egube, the immediate past Commissioners for Health, Information and Budget respectively.
However, our correspondent has learnt that the nominees were not rejected based on competence but political machination, the chief of which is the faceoff between the Governor and the Speaker of the House Mudashiru Obasa.
Iwitnesslive can report that the Speaker has an axe to grind with the Governor for working against his return as the Chief lawmaker.
Sanwo-Olu threw his weight behind Abiodun Tobun as Speaker and Obasa only succeeded because of the intervention of key leaders of the party in the state who got President Bola Tinubu to prevail on the Governor on the choice of Obasa.
“There is no love lost between the two leaders since then,” a highly placed member of the ruling All Progressives Congress told our correspondent. “Obasa is unhappy Sanwoolu worked against him and he believes the Governor was one of those who were behind his corruption allegation travails in 2020 which almost cost him his post. Except the leaders and elders of the party in the state intervene, this could affect the smooth running of governance in Lagos.”
Similarly, the religious imbalance in the nominees’ list also accounted for the lawmakers’ action with 15 of the rejected nominees being Christians. Sanwoolu had come under criticism from the Muslim community, who accused him of including just nine Muslims in the 39-member list.
Moreso, the lawmakers acted against some nominees who were said to have abandoned the party and travelled abroad during the election.
“The lawmakers believe these appointees should not benefit from the system they abandoned at the critical time. We believe some of them would still find a way to return to the cabinet as the Governor is looking for a political solution to the matter. People like Omotosho and Abayomi would return because they performed well in the first term, but the tension between the executive and the legislature should not be allowed to escalate, it should be quenched completely,” the source said.
