By Ebun Sessou

The Lagos State House of Assembly has denied fighting Governor Akinwunmi Ambode with the setting up of an adhoc committee to screen the proposed members of the cabinet.

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa

Addressing the press yesterday, the chairman of the committee who is also the Deputy Speaker of the House, Wasiu Eshinlokun stated that the process was constitutional.

According to him, Section 192 (4) of the constitution provides that nobody should be appointed as a commissioner of the state government unless he is qualified for election as a member of the House of Assembly.

“The reason for the screening is to confirm the authenticity of the certificates of the nominees rather than embarrassing them on the floor of the House.

“We want to do the necessary things because if we call the nominees to floor of the House and ask them to just take a bow and go, that would make it to be business as usual. The whole thing borders on the provision of the Constitution,” he said.

The lawmaker stated that the House has a very good relationship with the Governor, pointing out that if the relationship was messy, they would not have given the Governor’s request for budget re-ordering an easy passage.

According to him, “nominees were asked to write aptitude test in Cross Rivers State. We do not have any issue with the executive. It is wrong to say we set up the committee because the Governor wrote that the cabinet members would be sworn-in on Monday 5th, October.

“We are not even aware of such date, the Governor did not give us any swearing-in date in the letter he sent to us,” he said, adding that they have to do their job properly as lawmakers.

Eshinlokun said further that any nominee that is found to have presented fake certificate will be automatically disqualified.
He said that it should not be business as usual based on the current change mantra in the country, while stressing that the nominees would still be invited to the floor of the House for another screening at the end of the committee’s work which will start on Monday 5th October and end on Friday 9th October.