Nigeria: Lagos Govt Reacts to Report On State's Outrageous Spending

22 November 2023
Premium Times (Abuja)
By Kabir Yusuf

In responding to Mr Doherty's concern on Tuesday, Fatai Onafowote, the Director-General of Lagos State Public Procurement Agency said the issue was a "misunderstanding arising from a lack of clarity."

The Lagos State Public Procurement Agency has issued a statement reacting to an open letter sent by Funsho Doherty on the state's procurement spending.

Mr Doherty, the candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the 2023 governorship election, said the Lagos State government needs to consider its priorities in spending taxpayers' money.

"Judicious use of public funds is always important, and is especially so now," he said in a letter to the Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

The Lagos State official documents referenced by Mr Doherty covered projects awarded for the second and third quarters of 2023 by the state's Public Procurement Agency (PPA). Mr Doherty said these awards "require greater scrutiny" and he "requested the governor to review the projects."

Mr Doherty quoted how N2 billion was approved for the "provision of supply items (rechargeable fans, rechargeable lights and fridge in the office of the deputy governor."

He also mentioned how N18.5 million was awarded to the office of the chief of staff to the governor for the "supply and distribution of 2,000 Noiler chicken across the local government areas and wards in the state."

Response

In responding to Mr Doherty's concerns on Tuesday, Fatai Onafowote, the Director-General of Lagos State Public Procurement Agency said the issue was a "misunderstanding arising from a lack of clarity."

The agency said it is committed to ensuring transparency, accuracy, and accountability in all government transactions, as mandated by the Lagos State Public Procurement Law.

"We regret that specific details, particularly concerning the descriptions of government dealings, may have inadvertently led to confusion, impacting both governmental entities and corporate partners providing to the state," the statement said.

Earlier on Monday, the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Obafemi Hamzat, denied that his office received more than N2 billion for the "provision of supply items (rechargeable fans, rechargeable lights and fridge)."

According to the documents shared by Mr Doherty, the office of the deputy governor also got N30 million for "monthly outreach of indigent citizens by the wife of the deputy governor," and "another N30 million was awarded for monthly empowerment programmes of the wife of the deputy governor."

In response to the publication, which has continued to generate debates among Nigerians especially on social media, the deputy governor's office wrote the procurement agency, seeking clarification on information it described as "untrue, mischievous, fake and unfounded."

The deputy governor's office said: "It is important to state that, the office did get approval and awarded the provision of supply items (rechargeable fans, rechargeable lights and fridges) for the sum of =N=2,017,840 (Two Million, Seventeen Thousand, Eight Hundred and Forty Naira) and not the =N=2,017,840,000 (Two Billion, Seventeen Million, Eight Hundred and Forty Thousand Naira as reported on the website of your agency, Lagos State Public Procurement Agency, Lagos MEPB Q3 Budget Performance Review referenced by the X (formerly Twitter) account."

In its statement on Tuesday, the Lagos procurement agency also clarified that the government allocated "N2 million for rechargeable fans, rechargeable lights and fridges to the office of the deputy governor."

The agency noted that the concerns raised about the N2 billion "arose largely from lack of detailed descriptions in the project information, which has inadvertently led to confusion in public space."

"We emphatise with public concerns and extend our sincere apologies for any distress caused. It's never our intent to cast doubt or cause misunderstandings that might tarnish the reputation of respected individuals and organisations involved in these transactions," the agency said.

The agency also addressed some of the procurement deals that stirred controversy such as:

1. The Lagos Lotteries and Gaming Authority: Mr Doherty said substantial costs are being incurred by the Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority far above revenues it is generating for wide-ranging and disparate purposes. He added that as of September, the authority's 2023 revenues were reported at approximately N3.3 billion and expenditure at approximately N11.4 billion. "This contradicts the rationale for the existence of the authority and should be reexamined," he said.

However, the Agency refuted the claim that "the dwindling revenue cannot be substantiated and does not reflect the true position at Lotteries Board. The enabling law creating the Board empowers it to allocate funds for expenditure relating to certain objectives including educational, infrastructural, health care and environmental objectives."

2. Concerning the Lagos State Procurement Agency on-boarding of four MDAs and Twenty-nine hospitals into the E-procurement system, Mr Doherty said, there should be additional oversight and control mechanism for significant procurement awards of the Public Procurement Agency as procurement should not be left alone to police itself.

In responding to this claim, the Agency said: "The Lagos State Public Procurement Agency operates under a governance framework that ensures rigorous oversight and control mechanisms beyond its internal procurement policies. The agency's activities are subject of meticulous scrutiny and audit processes conducted by both the Lagos State House of Assembly and office of the Auditor General."

3. For Mr Doherty's comment on Blue Rail Line: the agency said that "The Blue Line Rail Project's design and construction were entrusted to Messr CCECC Nigeria Limited. Subsequently, upon finalising the fixed infrastructure, a two-year partial operation contract was executed with the contractor for the following purposes: bolster the technical and operational expertise of LAMATA's teams, fostering their capacity, meticulously gather scientific, financial and revenue data essential for informed decision-making processes, equip pertinent practitioners with the necessary information crucial for forthcoming concessioning procedures, empower the contractor to promptly address any defects identified during the operational phase of the project."

4. For the fragrance for the Governor's office: The procurement agency said "the amount of N7.47 million budgeted for the expenditure covers the entire year 2023 and other offices aside from the Governor's office."

To address these concerns thoroughly, the agency said it has taken immediate steps: "Line-by-line explanations of the contracts are attached herewith, aiming to provide absolute clarity and dispel any lingering misconceptions."

See the pictures below for further information on the line-by-line explanations by state's procurement agency:

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