Against the backdrop of recent claims of financial recklessness against his government, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of has admitted that his administration is not immune to mistakes.
While acknowledging that an error in expenditure estimates occurred, Sanwo-Olu insisted that his government was dedicated to providing public goods.
He spoke at the inauguration of the Lagos State Building Control Agency Building, PWD, Ikeja, where he reacted to the procurement record released by the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency.
Speaking against the backdrop of the open letter by Funso Doherty, the governorship candidate of the Action Democratic Congress (ADC) in Lagos State, Sanwo-Olu said his administration will continue to publish its spending despite criticisms.
The governor assured that his administration is committed, responsible, and transparent.
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He said: ‘We don’t have a problem with anybody, or any individual. We acknowledge that these are ways we should be doing things.
‘We appreciate criticism. We appreciate the fact that people can look us in the face [and tell us] that we need to do well in the state. So we don’t have a problem with the originator of an open letter. In fact, we like it and we want to thank him, and that’s to say that indeed, to be a government that is firm and responsible, we should not shy away from criticism.
‘But it’s only when criticism is malicious and intended to misrepresent the truth that’s where there’s a problem. Some officers in Lagos have all come out to say that, indeed, we can make mistakes on some lines of items. I heard of a particular one where an item was meant to be N2m but it was written as N2bn.
‘For me, I’m leading a team of very dedicated public officials; I’m leading a team of committed civil servants. I’m leading a team of self-motivated public officials who want to stand and say that they can be well recognised.’
Africa Today News, New York reports that many Nigerians have continued to react to the claims.