Sanwo-Olu Replies SAN On Lagos Cabinet

Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has replied a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, who in a statement titled ‘Lagos Without a Cabinet’ on Friday, had accused him of running a one-man show.

Adegboruwa had said that the state fund was being spent daily without commissioners and without an Executive Council duly constituted by the governor.

The senior lawyer noted that it is now well over one month that Sanwo-Olu was sworn-in for a second term in office, adding that a state as cosmopolitan and complex as Lagos deserves a functional cabinet.

“Presently, Lagos State is operating without an Executive Council in place. The House of Assembly has since been inaugurated and its officers duly elected.

“Money is being spent daily without Commissioners and without an Executive Council duly constituted.

“His Excellency, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu is on the saddle for his second term in office, so he is not new. Dr. Alex Otti, who is a first-term governor, has since constituted his cabinet, so too Mr. Ademola Adeleke of Osun State.

“Governor Sanwo-Olu was sworn in for a second term in office on May 29, 2023. It is now well over one month and he seems to be running a one-man show. So too, the governors of Oyo and Ogun states, who are also on their second terms in office,” Adegboruwa had said.

“I, therefore, urge the governor to promptly constitute his cabinet without further delay so Lagos will not be on autopilot,” he added.

But reacting to the senior lawyer’s statement, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Gboyega Akosile, said Sanwo-Olu has not flouted any law for not forming his cabinet.

Akosile noted that with or without the cabinet members at the moment, governance in Lagos is going smoothly, adding that the permanent secretaries are fully in charge as the chief accounting officers of their individual ministries.

The statement which was made available to THE WHISTLER read: “Our attention has been drawn to an unsolicited counsel from Mr. Ebun Adegboruwa, alleging that the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu is running a one-man show, simply because he has not constituted his cabinet yet since he resumed office for the second term.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the Nigerian Constitution is very clear about the number of days required for a State Governor to send his nominees for various cabinet offices to the State House of Assembly for legislative approval. According to the fifth alteration (No. 23), the bill seeks to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to require the President and Governors to submit the names of persons nominated as Ministers or Commissioners within sixty days of taking the Oath of Office for confirmation by the Senate or State Houses of Assembly; and for related matters.

“Governor Sanwo-Olu has only spent thirty-nine days in the office and therefore, has not flouted any law.

“Secondly, we must remind Mr. Adegboruwa, that Lagos remains a model State, where governance issues are taken very seriously and as such, his comparison of the State with other States he used in his submission is laughable. We also need to remind the erudite lawyer that Osun State Governor, Mr. Ademola Adeleke was sworn into the office in November, 2022, making it more than seven months before he sent his Cabinet nominees to the Osun State House of Assembly.

“We must also enlighten Mr. Adegboruwa, that with or without the Cabinet members at the moment, the wheel of governance is moving progressively in Lagos. The Permanent Secretaries are fully in charge as the Chief Accounting Officers of their individual Ministries and they are working tirelessly with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in conjunction with the Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, Secretary to the State Government, the Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor as well as the Head of Service, to achieve the administration’s vision of a Greater Lagos Rising anchored on the THEMES+ agenda.”