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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday stated
that with the emerging revelations as well as the confessions by the Lagos
State Speaker, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, the leadership of the state Assembly has
irredeemably lost the integrity to preside over legislations or make appropriations
for the people of the state.
The PDP, which urged the speaker to surrender
himself to the Economic and financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for
investigation, further stated that the state Assembly has become incurably
smeared with issues of corruption, misappropriation and allegations of
embezzlement of funds meant for the welfare of the people of the state.
According to the National Publicity Secretary of the
party, Kola Ologbondiyan, "Our party notes that the revelations at the
fact-finding panel of the state Assembly on corruption allegations against the
leadership of the state legislature are incorrigible.”
The party insisted that the Speaker should clear
his name by surrendering himself to the EFCC for investigation, instead of
limiting his defence to an in-house committee of the legislature, which he also
presides.
Ologbondiyan said Nigerians are still in shock over
the revelations at the panel of how funds meant for the welfare of Lagosians were
dissipated on luxurious Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs), frivolous foreign trips
and funding of expensive and wasteful lifestyles of certain lawmakers and their
relations, while the people are neglected and abandoned to a life of squalour.
The party described as heartbreaking, the
confession by the Speaker that public fund was disbursed to finance a trip of
wives of lawmakers to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
According to the PDP spokesman, "Our party
holds that the attempt by the Speaker to justify the purchase of expensive air
tickets, paying for hotel accommodation, feeding and local travel for wives of
lawmakers in Dubai from funds derived from levies and taxes foisted by the All
Progressives Congress (APC) administration in the state on poor Lagosians,
including widows, is to say the least, sacrilegious.
“The admission by the Speaker that ‘we gave N4 million to each of the
participants (wives of the lawmakers) for air ticket, hotels, feeding and local
travel-air ticket to Dubai alone is about N2 million’, exposes the impunity and
recklessness with which funds belonging to Lagosians are squandered.”
The PDP challenged the Speaker to show Nigerians
how much he had approved for hard working Lagosians, especially the youths, who
had continued to be denied opportunities for scholarships, economic
empowerment, employment and sponsorship to excel in various fields of endeavours.
PDP also challenged the Speaker to show what steps his legislature
had taken to uplift the living standard of the downtrodden Lagos women who had
continued to bear the weight of poverty and heavy taxes imposed by the APC
administration in the state.
Moreover, the party said the state Assembly is
still burdened with issues of reported discovery of 64 accounts allegedly
linked to the Bank Verification Number (BVN) of the Speaker, which is said to
be operated with multiple names in various banks and used to siphon public
funds, among other sundry allegations.
"Our party holds that such is a huge
allegation for which the Speaker should clear his name before the EFCC and not
before an in-house panel of the legislature," the statement stated.
The PDP, however, charged members of the state House
of Assembly to redeem the image of the legislature by immediately returning all
misappropriated funds, including the largess given to their wives and apologising
to the people of Lagos State.
It also called on the APC national leader, Asiwaju Bola
Tinubu, to speak out on the issue and condemn the recklessness in the Lagos
House of Assembly.
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