More than three months after he was re-elected executive governor of Lagos state and over a month since swearing in, Babajide Sanwo-Olu is yet to constitute a proper executive council for the state, raising concerns among some critical stakeholders in the state.
Recall that he was declared winner of the March 18 governorship election, pulling a total of 762,134 to defeat first runner-up, Labour Party’s Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour who secured 312,329 votes, while Abdulazeez Adeniran of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, got 62,449 votes.
His inability to constitute a new state executives council for a state like Lagos after dissolving the previous executives on May 24 is raising serious concerns in a complex state like Lagos.
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Some stakeholders who spoke with National Daily on condition of anonymity said the delay might not be unconnected with what is opening at the federal level where ministers are yet to be appointed by President Bola Tinubu.
They argued that Tinubu is likely to compensate some loyalists who failed to clinch federal appointments with key appointments in the state, hence the delay in appointing commissioners and other key aides in Lagos.
“Recall that the federal government had to issue a statement debunking the rumour that the Lagos State Head of Service, Hakeem Muri-Okunola was being positioned as Principal Private Secretary (PPS) to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,”
“This and many more are part of the reasons why Sanwo-Olu is dilly dallying on who gets what in the state,” the source added.
Defending Gov. Sanwo-Olu, his Chief Press Secretary, Gboyega Akosile, in statement seen by National Daily, said the state has not broken any law by not yet having a cabinet in place.
He said the constitution allows for 60 days after oath-taking, noting that the governor has only spent 44 days in office because he was sworn in for a second term on May 29.
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Akosile added that governance in the state is moving progressively even without the cabinet members.
According to him, 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 the service, to achieve the administration’s vision of a greater Lagos rising anchored on the THEMES+ agenda.
However, despite these assurances, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, picked holes in Akosile’s argument.
He said a state like Lagos which is cosmopolitan and complex deserves a functional cabinet, for the certainty of administration and predictability of policies.
“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,” he added.
Gov. Sanwo-Olu last month re-appointed Tayo Ayinde and Gboyega Soyannwo as his chief of staff and deputy chief of staff respectively.
The governor also appointed Bimbo Salu-Hundeyin, a federal commissioner, National Population Commission (NPC), as the secretary to the state government.