SPEAKING ABOUT USING $200 MILLION FROM THE TREASURY TO DEFEND SANWO-OLU’S ELECTION VICTORY, LAGOS STATE

Babatunji Wusu –

Gbenga Omotoso, the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, has stated that it is untrue that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu used public monies to pay four law firms N50 million apiece to contest his election victory.
Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the Labour Party’s candidate for governor of Lagos State in 2023, posted the accusation in a paper on his X account.

The paper claims that the law firms Ahmed Raji & Co, Akinboro & Co, Babatunde Ogala & Co, and Messrs Femi Okunnu & Co were given instructions by the Lagos Ministry of Justice to represent and defend the governor in a number of lawsuits.

“We went to court with Mr. Sanwolu, Mr. Hamzat, the APC, and INEC. We refrained from suing @lagosstategov. Why should his legal bills be covered by the state? Why should his representation be funded by taxes paid by the people?

Rhodes-Vivour had tweeted, “This is why they are always quick to say ‘Go to court’ because they are so irresponsible and cheap, to not even pick up their legal bills.”

Omotoso, however, responded in a statement on Tuesday, insisting that the accusation is untrue and that it is merely a ruse to mislead the public.

The statement says as follows: “On November 19, 2023, Labour Party (LP) candidate Mr. Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour made a post on ‘X’ in which he claimed, without providing any evidence, that the Lagos State Government had financed Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s legal battle following the election on March 18, 2023. That is untrue.

A document that did not have the Lagos State Government’s emblem or the official endorsement of any of its officials was used to bolster the accusation. It was just another ruse to mislead the public about a N50,000,000 payment that never happened to four lawyers.

While it is important for patriotic people to examine the Lagos State Government’s finances, the conclusions of such investigations must always be founded on confirmed facts and nothing but the truth.

The deal that Mr. Rhodes-Vivour mentioned never happened. When the Honorable Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice brought forward a payment request, Mr. Governor refused to authorize it due to its irregularities.

“To be clear, in violation of his oath of office, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu will never misappropriate public funds.”