The Governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode, last week fired the first salvo, when he said that his administration’s plan to carry out total reconstruction of the International Airport Road from Oshodi, was being frustrated by the Federal Ministry of Works, which is headed by his predecessor, Babatunde Fashola.
want to use this medium to appeal and say that the approval of Mr. President should be rightly honoured and the agencies concerned, that is the Federal Ministry of Works, power and Housing and the security services should honour that promise by Mr. President
Ambode spoke after carrying out an extensive inspection of some critical projects in the state, adding that the present state of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Road was a national disgrace and required immediate attention to salvage the nation’s image.
The governor also expressed frustration that six months after President Muhammadu Buhari approved the handover of the Presidential Lodge, Marina, to the state government, it had yet to gain access into the premises.
He had said, “One of the key venues that we need to celebrate the real essence of Lagos, the historic place that we refer to as Presidential Lodge is still more or less being tossed about in terms of being handed over to us.
We believe strongly that by May 27, we should be able to invite Mr. President and other people who have actually made Lagos what it is today to that Presidential Lodge for the final banquet and dinner to mark Lagos at 50.
“As we speak, we (have) yet to gain entrance into that place, and this is frustrating our programme. So I want to use this medium to appeal and say that the approval of Mr. President should be rightly honoured and the agencies concerned, that is the Federal Ministry of Works, Power and Housing and the security services should honour that promise by Mr. President.
We just believe strongly that we must proceed to gain access into that place, so that we can roll out our programmes for Lagos at 50.” But in a swift reaction to what he called ‘baseless’ allegations against him, the Minister of Housing, Power and Works, Fashola, said the works ministry had approved several requests made by the Lagos State Government.
He said he had explained the processes to Ambode, when the latter called him, adding that the state had also refused to provide land needed for the National Housing Programme.
He said his response was to ensure that the public was not misled by the state governor’s inadvertent misrepresentation of facts. Fashola, in a statement released by his media aide, Hakeem Bello, said that the allegations of lack of cooperation and frustration of Lagos State Government’s development initiatives from the works ministry were simply not true.
Fashola said, “The allegations of lack of cooperation from the ministry and frustration of Lagos State government development initiatives are simply not true and the facts do not bear them out.
“In 2016, the Minister for Power Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, approved the use of the Federal Ministry of Works’ yard at Oworonsoki for Lagos State government to create a lay-by to ease traffic.
“The minister also approved that Lagos State be granted the rights to manage the street lighting on the 3rd Mainland Bridge, to support the security initiatives of the state, a request which the previous Federal Government administration had denied Lagos State for years.
“During the same year, the minister also supported the approval of the World Bank loan of $200 million to Lagos State, again a request the previous administration had denied Lagos State.
“As far as International Airport Road, which is currently the ground for the alleged ‘frustration’ is concerned, the correct position is that the Lagos State government presented a request for four roads that it would wish to take over.
“This is consistent with the position being canvassed by the minister, for states who are interested to apply to take over roads that are within their states.
“The ministry has presented the memorandum conveying the request of the Lagos State government to the Federal Executive Council, as was done with a similar request by the Kaduna State Government in 2016.”
But despite the immediate response from the Minister of Works on the allegation against him to douse the situation, political observers in the state quickly came up with permutations and concluded that the on-going tiff between the two graduates of the ‘Bourdillon School of Politics’ was a continuation of their pre- and postelection brawl.
According to them, though both the former and incumbent governors of the Centre of Excellence have given their explanation on the concerned projects in the state, whoever had been following Lagos politics with keen interest would understand that the affray’s tentacle is embedded in what transpired in Lagos State before Fashola became a member of President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet.
The Point gathered that the ongoing tiff between Fashola and Ambode might be in the interest of some forces, who believed that Fashola, having graduated from Lagos to become a minister under Buhari, would have automatically belonged to a clique tagged ‘Buhari Boys’.
Due to this, Fashola is likely being seen by many as the machinery to work for the team ahead of the 2019 general election in Lagos. And in order to checkmate him, efforts are being put together to relegate him before Lagosians, despite his hard work in the state while he was governor.
Speaking with The Point, a public political analyst, Tunde Eneji, averred that the ongoing imbroglio between Ambode and Fashola had its background in Lagos politics. He said, “Everything between the two has its root in Lagos politics.
We all know what happened before the election. But I believe since they say no permanent friend nor enemy in politics, Ambode should have forgotten the past.
Moreover, another thing I perceived about this issue is the suspicion that Fashola may be furthering the interest of the so called ‘Buhari Boys’, since he is a minister under Buhari.
There are many faces to this issue, but I believe playing politics with the level of failure in this government, nothing should be our leaders’ priority than proper governance,” he said.
A foremost female leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Chief Mrs Ola Williams, said she “doubts if the tiff between the duo has any political inclination.”
According to her, though both may have their differences before the election, “they are now fully involved in the progress of the party as they are products of Bola Tinubu.” “I don’t see the issue being political.
Of course, they might have had their differences before the election, but I can tell you that after that time, they have been working as good disciples of the party. Don’t forget they are both products of Asiwaju, Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” she said.
A chieftain of the APC, who asked not to be named, said, “If I would be sincere with you, I can tell you that there is a serious effort by the government in Lagos to destroy the Fashola legacy in this state.
For instance, go and take a look at the Heritage Park in Oshodi, which Fashola built with a lot of money, it has now been demolished and they said government wants to come up with another building.
“Apart from this, if you look at Lagos very well, you will see several things that Fashola laboured for during his time, and now they have been upturned, and I wonder if the two people are from different parties.
For me, I don’t think all Ambode is doing is necessary.” Meanwhile, observers have also argued that the tiff between the duo is a further implication of the fact that Tinubu is not happy with Fashola, especially when one remembers the battle for the APC’s ticket in the last governorship election in Lagos.
Meanwhile, Lagosians are of the belief that the dividends of democracy should be the pertinent issue between Ambode and Fashola, especially at this time that the state is aligning with the Federal Government for the first time since the advent of democracy.
