Sunday 14 July 2013

Fashola announces 83% budget performance: Yes but he stole all, says Lagos PDP



Opeyemi Adesina

The Lagos State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has chided the governor of Lagos State,  Babatunde Raji Fashola for his periodic self-praise on his budget performance, saying that the governor's claims can only be conceded from the angle that "He stole the budget claims to himself"

The opinion of the party is echoed  and premised on the fact that not only has Fashola performed so abysmally, the cost of the meagre developments in the State that are paid for directly from the budgets have been so tainted with corruption as they are over bloated even as such development contracts are awarded many times to a particular construction firm and with multiple payments.

The party also stated that governor Fashola has become an embarrassment to civilised leadership by his self-praise, arrogance and misappropriation of funds.

The Party's outburst is a reaction to Governor Fashola's recent claim that he has attained 83 percent budget performance in this quarter. The Governor had stated this at the Year 2013 Budget Second Quarter/Half-Year Performance Appraisal at the Lagos House, Ikeja,

"The pseudo performance of Governor Fashola is continually being powdered and coated as excellent, but indeed the more he tried it, the worse his rating became.We doubt whether Governor Fashola knows that he can no longer walk on Lagos Street without Security escorts. We challenge him to a street walk.

"We always wonder whether Governor Fashola actually lives in this Lagos State otherwise how on earth can a Honest Governor be comfortable with this level of development in a State that has collected over 17 trillion Naira from Federal Government and that has also realised at least 23Billion Naira every Month as IGR in the last 36 Months. This amount is equal to the revenue of Twenty Three States put together.  Notwithstanding these monies, the State remains the biggest debtor in the federation with over 10Thrillion Naira as Local and Foreign Debts. Lagos is presently living on the developments propelled by concessionaires who are businessmen and indeed profiteering or will profiteer from their investments. E.g is the development of the Lekki-Epe expressway; LASUTH; LightRail project; Garden Parks.
It will do Fashola a lot of good If only he can prompt a media tour of the purported projects and expenditures that have now justified the 83 percent budget performance".

The party reiterates that the Fashola Administration is a failure and remains only a hyped and propagandists administration. The 83 percent budget performance claim has a motive and its simply to shore up the already exploitative taxation in the state!
"When indeed one wonders whether the areas as: Ayobo, Igando, Makoko, ajeromi, Ejigbo, ifako etc  Are not part of the state wondering why such areas have not enjoyed any state development whilst the same state government claims it has spent so much on "invincible" federal projects!"

The Lagos State PDP opines that the Governor deliberately claims success to embarrass his predecessor who indeed did nothing to improve the state thus giving the present Fashola administration a "grade A" outlook. "Unfortunately for Fashola, his administration is worse because he has realised more money than his predecessor but he has neglected to touch the life of the common man in the state. Rather he has expended more money on Propaganda to portray his administration as acceptable. It is our counsel that he must admit his policies have inflated poverty in the State and he should show human feelings and seriousness to redress this by establishing the ministry of poverty alleviation in the State".