Emmanuel Thomas, Lagos
October 07, 2015 – A cross section of Lagos residents on yesterday stormed the Lagos State House of Assembly demanding the confirmation of one the 37 candidates nominated by the state governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode.
The aggrieved residents want the house to clear Dr. Femi Onanuga to serve in the cabinet.
The House, in turn, had set up a 15-man ad-hoc committee to screen the governor’s nominees before clearance as commissioners and special advisers.
The committee is being chaired by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Wasiu Sanni-Eshinlokun.
But a concerned resident of the state, Oladele Benson had petitioned the House over inclusion of Onanuga who they alleged misappropriated funds at Ikoyi club.
According to Benson in the petition dated September 28, 2015, “Dr Olufemi Onanuga was a member of Ikoyi Club 1938 and we both served as members of the General Committee of the club between 2007 and 2008. He was then the vice-chairman of the club and I was the chairman of the Billiards and Snooker section of the club. As a result of diverse investigation into financial/ administrative activities in Ikoyi Club 1938, Dr Olufemi Onanuga had to face disciplinary panel in the club, which led to his expulsion from the club.”
As a follow up to the petition, a group identified as Lagos Good Governance Coalition (LAGCO) also petitioned the House asking that Onanuga should not be confirmed for reason of his alleged indictment by the Ikoyi Club 1938.
But the residents, who stormed the Lagos Assembly complex on Wednesday, urged the lawmakers in the state to ignore the opposition against Onanuga’s confirmation.
The residents insisted that the allegations against Onanuga were unfounded and totally baseless. According to the residents, the writer of the petition against Onanuga (Benson), was only doing so for selfish reasons, and that the House should go ahead to confirm the governor’s nominee as a cabinet member.
Responding to the concerns of the residents, a member of the ad-hoc committee of the House and member representing Epe Constituency II, Segun Olulade, said the House would act on the request of the residents.
He assured the residents that Onanuga would be given fair hearing on the allegations against him. Earlier, while speaking against the backdrop of the petition, Eshilokun had disclosed that the House, as a responsive and responsible institution, would not automatically disqualify the governor’s nominees based on petitions against any of them.
He had specifically assured that the nominees would be allowed to respond to the petitions against any of them.
“Any petition against any of the nominees will not amount to automatic disqualification. We will confront them with such petitions and allow them to respond. What I’m principally saying is that we will give the nominees fair hearing and then the House will come up with an appropriate decision,” Eshilokun stated.
