While the Lagos state governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, on Wednesday played down speculation of rift with the National Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, there are facts suggesting the contrary.
Recall that on Tuesday, a group fiercely loyal to Tinubu’s Mandate Movement, picked the current Managing Director of the Lagos State Property Development Corporation, Jide Sanwoolu as its candidate for the 2019 governorship election in the state.
The genesis of the rift, National Daily gathered was the refusal of the governor to take instructions from Tinubu, especially on a N2.4bn contract to procure OB VAN and cameras for the Lagos State owned Television, LTV.
It was learnt that when Tinubu got the hint of the contract through a top Director in LTV (name withheld), he was said to have put a phone call to Ambode that the contract be suspended pending further instruction from him but Ambode, backed by a cabal led by his Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Steve Ayorinde, who is now in-charge of Ministry of Art and Tourism, urged the governor to ignore Tinubu.
However, month after months and after two years the contract was awarded, the OB VAN, is yet to be delivered while the Cameras, though delivered, falls below expectation and failed due process and quality and assurance control integrity test.
The contractor, a Lebanese hired to supply the OB VAN by the Steve Ayorinde led Cabal of the information unit of the state government was paid 50% upfront to purchase the OB VAN, Cameras and other gadgets from a British Firm called Excellence Transmission Inc Limited based in Manchester, United Kingdom with an agreement to complete the payment within six months after payment of first instalment.
The OB VAN, according to the agreement paper signed between Excellence Transmission Inc Limited and LTV, was expected to be released upon completion of payment by Lagos State Government. Out of Two Billion Four Hundred Million Naira (N2.4billion), a sum of One Billion, two hundred million naira (N1.2billion) which was 50% of the contract sum was released on the order of Ambode.
However, while 50% of the Cameras were released, the OB VAN was not released until full payment is made as agreed. Meanwhile, the cameras, upon delivery were confirmed to be substandard and fell below standard, contradicting the sole purpose which the cameras were bought.
The existing cameras of the station were said to be of higher quality than the ones supplied from England. Two Directors from the station, backed by Tinubu were said to have refused to sign the due process paper confirming that the cameras were delivered as agreed in the contract paper.
The refusal of these two Directors of LTV, whose name were concealed, was said to have angered the governor who ordered their transfer out of LTV. New Directors were posted to LTV to sign the due process paper for the cameras which are currently rusting away at the station situated along Agindigbi road, Ikeja.
Three months after the resumption of the two directors posted to cover the fraud at LTV, another set of senior staff jointly wrote a memo to Steve Ayorinde, asking for the where-about of the remaining cameras and when the OB VAN would be delivered.
Acting on a petition secretly forwarded to him by some concerned staff of LTV recently, Ambode was told by Tinubu to explain the situation of the OB VAN which he had planned to use at his (Tinubu) owned private broadcast station, Television Continental (TVC) for LIVE transmission of political rallies for commercial purpose ahead of 2019 general elections.
An angry Tinubu, without mincing word, was said to have listed several blunders and steps Ambode had taken to undermine his authority such as the termination of refuse collector contract to party chieftains to hire the obviously in-efficient VisionScape Concept to the LTV contract scam, Tinubu warned the governor to provide the OB VAN before July 2018 or forget his 2019 second term ambition.
A check at the 2017 appropriation of Lagos state however showed that the balance of the OB VAN whose initial deposit was captured in 2016 budget, has been released clandestinely without following due process. And to cover up the fraud, 11 staff of LTV have either been redeployed or retired from the service of Lagos State Government.