Segun James
The Lagos State House of Assembly yesterday approved the request of the state Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to purchase 355 vehicles for government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
The governor initially requested for 916 vehicles, which he said were needed by various officials of the government.
The approval was done through a voice vote supervised by the Speaker of the Assembly, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa.
The Assembly had on March 22 announced during the plenary that it received a letter from the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget seeking the approval to expend from the special expenditure to procure vehicles for official use by officials of the MDAs to aid effective services.
The Speaker subsequently committed the request to the Assembly Committee on Economic Planning and Budget headed by Hon. Gbolahan Yishawu (Eti Osa 2), and the committee was told to report to the Assembly yesterday.
Presenting the report during plenary yesterday, Yishawu revealed that the committee invited the state Head of Service (HOS), Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola, and the Permanent Secretary in the state Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Mrs. Abiola Liadi, among others to defend the request.
According to him, the three requests to expend from the special expenditure votes included the sum of N464, 375,000, N1, 395, 300 000 and N2,567,535,000 totaling N4,427,210, 000 billion.
The money is to be financed from the Special Expenditure Votes of the 2021 Appropriation Law.
Yishawu added that the committee urged the officials of the state government to include purchase of vehicles for government officials in subsequent budgets rather than requesting for purchase of vehicles from special expenditure votes.
He revealed that the state government actually needed about 1,006 vehicles for its officials as discovered by the committee, but that the state governor approved only 355 due to shortage of fund.
A Bill for a Law to Consolidate All Laws Relating to the Transport Sector 2021 was also passed into law by the Assembly.
The state Assembly later adjourned sitting to April 12, 2021.
