The Governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode, has been saved from the threat of impeachment by the Lagos State House of Assembly led by Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa.
The legislative house had given the governor the ultimatum of one week to appear before it and explain why he should not be impeached for spending out of the 2019 budget which it had not approved.
But in a move to solve the problem between the Executive and Legislative arm of government in the state, a special Governor’s Advisory Committee (GAC) intervened on Sunday and resolved the crisis.
The meeting was held at Marina, Lagos.
As it is the legislative house has been asked to drop the impeachment move.
The National leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu who spoke with journalists after the meeting, said the committee advised that communication between the two arms of government should be promoted.
Said Tinubu: “We held a meeting on behalf of entire Lagosians. In the last one week or so, there has been some talk about a conflict between the executive and the legislature in Lagos. This is of great concern to us. We looked at the source of the conflict, which is normal in a democracy, and that is why there are also conflict-resolution mechanisms.
“We examined the grievances on both sides. As leaders, we also looked into areas where there has to be compromise. In order to build institutions and encourage consensus-building, we have to do what is right. There is no impeachment. Let there be more communication and consensus-building and understanding. All these are inbuilt in the democratic system.
“We thank the speaker and the leadership of the house. We thank the governor and the deputy governor. They have all demonstrated respect for the party leadership in Lagos. You know when Lagos sneezes, other areas catch cold. We are happy that we are able to resolve the conflict and things will start moving well going forward.”
An APC leader in Lagos State, Tajudeen Olusi, corroborated Tinubu.
His words: “The APC leader has spoken. This is just to further confirm the decisions that we reached.
“Conflict is an institutional part of the governance. The executive and legislature must work together. We have reached a decision that they must work together amicably. And very soon, both the legislature and the executive must resolve the grey areas in their relationship.”
Present at the meeting were Governor Ambode, Idiat Adebule, his deputy; Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governorship candidate of the APC in Lagos; Mudashiru Obasa, the speaker; Wasiu Eshinlokun, deputy speaker; and Tajudeen Olusi, an APC leader in Lagos Island.
