Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos has finally addressed concerns regarding the state government’s spending and transparency today during the inauguration of the Lagos State Building Control Agency Building in PWD Ikeja.
In response to an open letter from Funso Doherty, the governorship candidate of the Action Democratic Congress in Lagos, Governor Sanwo-Olu assured the public of his administration’s unwavering commitment to transparency and public accountability in governance.
Acknowledging that mistakes are inevitable in any administration, Sanwo-Olu emphasised the importance of maintaining openness in government affairs and pledged to continue publishing spending records for public scrutiny.
His words:
“We are committed, responsible and transparent. We don’t have a problem with anybody or any individual. We acknowledge that these are ways we should be doing things.
“We appreciate criticism. We appreciate the fact that people can look at us in the face that we need to do well in the state.
“So we don’t have a problem with the originator of an open letter. In fact, we like it, and we want to thank him, and that’s to say that, indeed, to be a government that’s firm and responsible, we should not shy away from criticism.
“But it is only when criticism is malicious, unintended, and it is to misrepresent the truth, and that’s where there’s a problem.
“Some officers in Lagos have all come out to say that, indeed, we can make mistakes on some lines of items. I heard of a particular one that an item was meant to be N2 million, but it was written as N2 billion.
“For me, I’m leading a team of very dedicated public officials; I’m leading a team of committed civil servants. I’m leading a team of self-motivated public officials who want to stand and say that they can be well recognised.”
Asserting his administration’s focus on serving the people of Lagos and prioritising public goods, the governor reiterated the commitment to transparency in government operations.
He assured the public that the government would maintain an accessible website with detailed spending information and contact details for public engagement.
