A Lagos High Court in Ikeja on Tuesday has ordered the State House of Assembly, the Speaker, Honourable Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa, to appear before it in connection with the ongoing probe of procurement of 820 buses by the administration of former governor of the state, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode.
Justice Y. A. Adesanya of the High Court had issued the order dated October 29, 2019, after hearing a motion ex-parte moved by Ambode’s lawyer, Tayo Oyetibo (SAN).
Former Governor Ambode had instituted a suit against the Assembly to contest the constitutionality of the probe of the buses which he maintained were procured based on budgetary approval as part of the Bus Reform Project of his administration designed to revolutionize public transportation in line with global best practices.
Other defendants ordered to appear before the court at 9am on Wednesday, October 30, 2019, as contained in the statement made available to newsmen in Lagos, are the House Clerk, Mr. A. A. Sanni; Chairman of the Ad hoc Committee set up by the House to probe the procurement, Fatai Mojeed and members of the Committee.
The members are: Gbolahan Yishawu, A. A. Yusuff, Yinka Ogundimu, Mojisola Lasbat Meranda, M. L Makinde, Kehinde Joseph, T. A. Adewale and O. S. Afinni.
Justice Adesanya ordered that the originating processes and all the accompanying processes filed by the claimant (Ambode) be served on the defendants and subsequently fixed Wednesday October 30, 2019 for hearing of the motion for interlocutory injunction.
According to his statement of claim before the court, the former governor said contrary to deliberate misrepresentation of facts by the lawmakers, the procurement of the 820 buses was well captured in the 2018 Appropriation Law which was duly approved by the House.
“In Section 1 of the Bill, the 1st Defendant (House of Assembly) authorized the total Budget for the year 2018 to be One Trillion, Forty Six Billion, One Hundred and Twenty One Million, One Hundred and Eighty-One Thousand, Six Hundred and Eighty Naira (N1,046,121,181,680.00) comprising the sum of Three Hundred and Forty Seven Billion, Thirty-Eighty Million, Nine Hundred and Thirty-Eight Thousand, Eight-Hundred and Seventy-Two Naira (N347,038,938,872.00) only and Six Hundred and Ninety-Nine Billion, Eighty-Two Million, Two Hundred and Forty-Two Thousand, Eight Hundred and Eighty Naira (N699,082,242,808.00) only as the Recurrent and Capital Expenditures respectively.
“Part of the items authorized by the Bill under Capital Expenditure was: ‘LAGBUS Public Transport Infrastructure (MEPB); Part financing of 820 buses’ which was Item 8 under Schedule 1- Part C of the Bill,” the former governor averred.
Ambode added that having prescribed the manner of withdrawal of funds in Sections 3 and 4 of the 2018 Appropriation Law, it was unconstitutional for the House to attach another condition in Section 9 of the law for further approval to be sought before incurring any expenditure on the purchase of the buses.