The Lagos State House of Assembly has maintained her stance to go ahead with impeachment proceedings against Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, if he refused to use the window created by the state legislature, for him to clear the air on the alleged infractions committed on the yet to be laid 2019 budget.
In a reaction to about five groups that visited the assembly in demanding they back down on the legislature’s resolve on impeachment, the Majority Leader Hon.Sanai Agunbiade rising from an emergency parliamentary meeting address newsmen reaffirming the poise of the house to toe constitutional path, which afforded sanctions for such infraction.
“Before us the issue is not whether or not we want Governor Ambode to end his tenure,he is the Governor of Lagos State and we take him as the Governor of the state.
“We wish to make the public to know that major issue in contention is the 2019 appropriation bill. We have had him laid three in time past,so we never expected this.
“We were willing to take the budget but did not have it, while expenditures and warrants were issued,in the 2018 budget appropriations ,we found infractions and for you to spend at all, you have to lay the budget.
“The government must be well funded, why should we be managing, when we can make needed provisions,the issue at hand is the budget.
“Most of the allegations do not have real names they are not genuine,our question is why are those coming up now, the issue at hand is the budget,what has that got to do with sponsoring?
“How can the Governor fund the campaign of individual members in the house, can he fund APC and not fund PDP, in our midst will he fund APC and not fund PDP?
“When you leave the real issue and you are attacking the personality of that person raising an argument it is an to destroy the person, in an attempt to discredit the claim and nothing is done.
“The people are raising this issue not the Governor,we are conscious of the fact,that some people may want to creep in.
” The house of Assembly is doing all these in the interest of the state and to the extent that Lagos continue to flourish,but we can not compromise this constitutional issue.
“You see that even at the last seating the house having noticed all the infraction, we decided to write,the Governor to come and explain more on this infractions.
” If we had wanted war,we wouldn’t have given that window,so it is now left for the Governor to shut the window at us or take advantage of the window.
“We have given and of course we are expecting that he would work in and use the opportunity of the window, we look at the issue together.
“The impeachment comes in where this infractions continue with impunity and nothing is done, aside the opportunity given is to make clearance.
” We would apply the sanctions in the provisions of Constitution which is impeachment.
“If you are saying the Governor should not be impeached,the public also should tell the Governor to do the needful about the budget.