The crisis between Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos, and the legislative arm of the state government is believed to have been resolved.
The power brokers in Lagos operating under the aegis of Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC), who are believed to have stirred the lawmakers against Ambode in the first place, were said to have convened a meeting on Sunday to resolve the rift.
Present at the meeting were Bola Tinubu, former governor of Lagos State, who is the chairman of the GAC, Governor Ambode and his deputy, Idiat Adebule; Mudashiru Obasa, speaker of the state House of Assembly, his deputy, Wasiu Esinlokun, among others.
Tinubu after the meeting was said to assured that Ambode would not be impeached.
The house had last week threatened to impeach Ambode after accusing him of ‘gross misconducts’ including spending funds not appropriated for, as well as not presenting the 2019 budget to the house.
There were allegations in some quarters that the impeach threat was meant to arms twist Ambode to release funds to the tune of N100 billion to the power brokers in the state to prosecute the 2019 general elections. Ambode is not a candidate in the elections having been denied a second term ticket by his party- APC.
Tinubu, who is also a national leader of the APC and godfather of Lagos politics, was said to assured that Ambode would not be impeached.
Speaking after the meeting, Tinubu said: “We held a meeting on behalf of entire Lagosians.
“In the last one week or so, there has been some talk about a conflict between the Executive and the Legislature in Lagos. This is of great concern to us.
“We looked at the source of the conflict, which is normal in a democracy, and that is why there are also conflict-resolution mechanisms. We examined the grievances on both sides.
“As leaders, we also looked into areas where there has to be compromise. In order to build institutions and encourage consensus-building, we have to do what is right.
“There is no impeachment. Let there be more communication and consensus-building and understanding. All these are inbuilt in the democratic system.
“We thank the speaker and the leadership of the House. We thank the governor and the deputy governor. They have all demonstrated respect for the party leadership in Lagos.
“You know when Lagos sneezes, other areas catch cold. We are happy that we are able to resolve the conflict and things will start moving well going forward.”
The rift between the executive and legislative arms of the state government as well as the non presentation and passage of the 2019 budget is already telling effect on good governance in Nigeria’s economic capital, as most infrastructure projects meant to add value to the state economy and its estimated 21 million population have been stalled.
Joshua Bassey
