Lagos Assembly Speaks On Why 17 Commissioner Nominees Were Rejected, Sanwo-Olu Reacts

The Lagos State House of Assembly has disclosed why it did not confirm seventeen out of the thirty-nine commissioner nominees sent to it by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

TORI recalls that 22 of the Commissioner nominees were however confirmed by the lawmakers on Wednesday.

This follows the presentation before the House by Hon. Mojeed Fatai of the report of the 12-man ad hoc committee on the screening of the Governor’s commissioner nominees.

Asked for the reason behind the non-confirmation of the 17 nominees, the Chief Whip of the Assembly who also served as the Chairman of the Screening Committee, Mojeed Fatai Adebola said the rejection of the nominees was a result of the unanimous decision by all members of the state assembly and not his personal decision.

He stated this during an Interview with TVC News on Wednesday night.

He said: “As I said at our inaugural sitting, our mandate was just to screen, not to confirm nor disqualify any nominee.

“The reason for rejection is best known to the house (40 members), not as an individual. We did our job in checking the nominees’ track records''.

Governor’s Camp Reacts

Similarly, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Sanwo-Olu, Gboyega Akosile during an interview with TVC News said the House is yet to officially communicate its decision to the Governor.

He said all they know at the moment is from media reports.

According to the CPS, both the executive and the legislature are working for the people of Lagos and the Governor will meet with the lawmakers at the right time and come up with the best decision.

In the words of Akosile, “The immediate reaction is that there hasn’t been any official communication yet to Mr. Governor. There are processes. The House of Assembly is supposed to send to the governor that this is what they’ve done, and that hasn’t been done yet. We were also seeing in the media that 17 nominees have been disqualified.

“The House of Assembly in their wisdom know why they rejected some of these nominees. There will be a meeting point between the executive and legislators over this issue.

“I don’t believe there’s anything extraordinary that has happened. The executive and legislative are working in partnership. They working for the common man in Lagos to enjoy the dividend of democracy.

“Maybe one or two reasons why some of the nominees were rejected, Mr Governor will meet with the legislators and there will be a meeting point for the two parties, and things would pan out positively.

“The governor is aware of all of these agitations. The most important thing is how we are able to bring everybody together to forge positive front. This is the first time any governor of the state will be throwing out the nomination to the political class.

“Every local government in the state was given opportunity to nominate people into the cabinet. This is the first time, and they nominated three persons. The governor also mandated gender balance. The executive did a thorough job before bringing up the list.''

Speaking on the alleged marginalization which caused a protest in some quarters, the CPS said: “The governor has met with religious leaders and an amicable solution is being worked on to ensure Lagos moves forward. What is important for us is that everyone is carried along.”