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New Page 3
My problems with Tinubu -- Ogunlewe
•S/East NASS members indicted on Onitsha -
Owerri road
WORKS
Minister, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe on Saturday explained his lingering face-off
with Gov. Bola Tinubu of Lagos State, saying that at the root of the matter is
the issue of creation of local governments by the governor.
Senator Ogunlewe, who denied reports that
he was eyeing the state’s governorship position in 2007, alleged that Tinubu
jettisoned advice to retain the names of the 20 old local governments and add as
many new ones as he desired in the latter’s creation exercise.
But Lagos State claimed that Ogunlewe’s
position on issues affecting the state were unfair.
The minister also spoke on the present
uncertainty pervading the duration of work on the Onitsha-Owerri road, saying
the answer to the issue lay with how much South-East members of the National
Assembly voted for the project.
Speaking to newsmen in Lagos, Senator
Ogunlewe alleged that Gov. Tinubu was impervious to advice on the local
government creation matter and preferred to do things his own way even when such
position was unconstitutional.
Said he: "They asked us to go to our
respective wards for a plebiscite (on the council’s creation) and I participated
and voted. And I warned him" retain the names of 20 and add more.
"What other states did was to retain what
is in the constitution and added more. But he said no, that he was going to do
it his way. Out of these 20, he removed their names completely and changed the
names. And that is going to cause trouble.
"At the federal level, when they are
giving you money...they’ll indicate the amount they are going to give to each
local government. In our (Lagos) case, these local governments they are no
longer existing, he has replaced them with new names. So which local government
will the federal government give the money to?
"And I said Ok, tell your House of
Assembly to change that law and retain the 20 and add whatever number you want
to add. So, even if the worse comes to the worst, if they don’t want to give you
anything, they will still give the 20...
"But here you have dissolved them, you
have given them totally new names. It will not be entered into the computer in
the Ministry of Finance.
"They will clear cheques you are issuing
in the CBN, the names of all the local governments are there. That’s where you
get your money, the Lagos local governments they are going to put in the voucher
are not recognised in the constitution. That is the crux of the matter."
On the Fourth Mainland Bridge proposed by
the state government with private sector participation, the minister described
it as a waste, alleging that it was a device to loot public funds.
But Chief Press Secretary to the Governor,
Mr. Segun Ayobolu alleged that the minister’s position on Lagos was taken out of
hatred.
"The man has not seen anything good in
Tinubu’s administration since he (Ogunlewe) crossed over to the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP)," the CPS said.
Meanwhile, amid present uncertainty on the
date for conclusion of work on the vital N29 billion Onitsha-Owerri road,
Senator Ogunlewe said that the duration of the project depends entirely on South
East members of the National Assembly.
He spoke against the backdrop of
conflicting reports in the media that the project, which contract award on July
24, 2002, was received with joy in the South-East and originally scheduled to
run for about three years, would now run for 10 or more years.
But, apparently opening a window into
unknown aspects of the matter, Senator Ogunlewe alleged that he warned
South-East members of the National Assembly to vote hefty funds for the road to
enable it be completed on schedule.
Said he: "I was warning the Senators and
members of the National Assembly from the South-East during the preparation of
the budget that at the rate of N1 billion allocation per year for a N29 billion
project, how long do you think it will take to complete that project?
"I don’t allocate funds. It is the
responsibility of the National Assembly to allocate funds for projects on
Appropriation Act. And I warned them, if you continue to only allocate one
billion per year, how long do you will take to complete that project?"
The minister said with heftier allocation
to the Works Ministry this year, funds were given out on zonal basis to cater
for different projects, pointing out that he counselled the federal lawmakers to
prioritise projects in the area in accordance with the people’s needs.
Dismissing the Greek contractor, CCC
Nigeria Limited, as not satisfying in terms of performance, he insisted that
only the South East lawmakers would say when the Onitsha-Owerri road would be
completed.
About N6 billion, he said, had so far been
paid to the contractor.
According to him, the Works Minister does
not appropriate funds to projects as such is the constitutional function of the
legislature, noting, however, that "at the end of the day it is the money you
give to me that I apply to the project".
The Onitsha-Owerri road has elicited
passion from prominent people of the South-East who stridently called on the
Federal Government to dualise the highway to release the industrial energies of
people of the area as the project is the main link with other parts of the
country.
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