Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Lagos State Governor , has been publicly criticized for approving N7.5 million to replace liquid fragrance in his office and N3 billion to acquire rechargeable fans for his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat's office.
The Public Procurement Agency (PPA) of Lagos State awarded contracts in the second and third quarters of 2023, and these contracts drew criticism from Nigerians on social media. Among these contracts was the approval of over N440 million for the purchase of a new Lexus LX 600 Bulletproof Sport Utility Vehicle, which would be used by the Office of Chief of Staff.
In addition, N18.5 million was given to the Chief of Staff's office for the procurement and distribution of 2,000 Noiler chickens throughout the state's wards and local government areas.
The government also sanctioned N152 million for the restoration of the water supply at the formal residence of the Oba of Lagos, Iduganran Palace, according to documents shared on Twitter.
The state would set aside N581 million to renovate Saint Andrews Anglican Church in the Oke-Popo region of the state, according to the document.
Similarly, the documentation revealed that the deputy governor's wife gave the office of the deputy governor N30 million per month for the outreach to impoverished individuals, with an additional N30 million set aside for the empowerment initiative.
The Action Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate for governor of Lagos in 2023, Funsho Doherty, responded to the document's ridiculous contracts that were gobbling up public monies by saying he had written an open letter to Governor Sanwo-Olu asking for a review of some of the projects.
“I just wrote an open letter to the governor on Public Procurement awards reported by LASG for the 2nd and 3rd quarters of 2023, highlighting a number of issues for further scrutiny and remedial action.
“Judicious use of public funds is always important and is especially so now,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Internet users questioned some of the contracts in the paper, highlighting the government officials' wastefulness and callous disregard for the suffering of ordinary Nigerians.
