The Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders on
Saturday took a swipe at the former Governor of
Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, describing
his administration as draconian and anti-people.
The activist group was reacting to Fashola’s
condemnation of its call on President
Muhammadu Buhari not to consider the ex-
governor for appointment for his alleged
mismanagement of state funds.
CACOL said the Fashola-led administration was
engulfed in several controversies which could not
be overlooked.
Fashola had come under fire after the Lagos
State Public Procurement Agency posted a report
on its website, stating that N78.3m was paid to a
firm, Info Access Plus Limited, for the upgrade of
his website, www.tundefashola.com, through the
Office of the Chief of Staff to the Governor.
The ex-governor had last week defended the
decision by his government to spend N78.3m on
the upgrade of the website in a five-page letter
he personally signed, in which he admitted that
the money was actually spent on his website.
Fashola also berated CACOL, in his letter titled
‘When you wrestle with a pig, the pig gets happy
and you get dirty,’ for dragging him to the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and
for calling on President Buhari not to give him a
political appointment.
Fashola said, “I cannot conclude without
responding to the crusade of CACOL and their ilk
seeking my prosecution on allegations that have
no proof and writing pre-emptive letters to the
Presidency.
“In case they are unaware, I am not looking for a
job. I expect them to know that allegations of
wrongdoing are not resolved without evidence,
neither are they resolved in press conferences.”
However, the Executive Chairmain of CACOL, in a
statement titled, ‘We Don’t Mind Wrestling With
The Pig As Long As It Produces The Pork,’ on
Saturday, said if the former governor could
justify the cost of his personal website, no
matter what he used it for, then there might be
many more shenanigans to be unearthed by the
relevant anti-graft agencies.
He said, “The Oxford Advanced Learner’s
Dictionary defines a “pig” as an unpleasant or
offensive person; a person who is dirty or
greedy. Based on this premise, leaders who
deliberately run elitist, oppressive and draconian
government can only be described by no other
name, but pigs.
“A government that causes so much hardship to
the largest stratum of the socio-economic ladder,
whereas it engages in obscene affluence all in
the name of white elephant projects that have no
direct bearing on the suffering Lagosians, is
nothing but a pig.
“It will be foolhardy for a man who requires pork
to say he wouldn’t wrestle with a pig. How does
he intend to get it? After all it has been said, ‘No
willing pig provides pork; whoever desires pork
wrestles the pig down for it!’
Adeniran asked of what use was a N78.3m-
website when several other developmental needs
of people in Lagos were begging for attention.
Adenira further said, “Basically, what concerns
us more is the issue of suspected corruption
embedded in the award and execution of
contracts in the regime of Babatunde Fashola, as
illuminated by the award of this N78.3m website
contract.
“Every IT person CACOL has contacted put an
over-bloated estimate of the cost of the website
at about N6m. We are not surprised that a
contract that could have cost N6m could be
ballooned to N78.3m, because that is a
trademark of Mr. Fashola’s administration.
“The website contract is an eye opener and
lending credence to the allegations of the ‘True
Face of Lagos’ where most of the contracts
awarded before 2010 were said to have been
immorally inflated by the regime of Babatunde
Raji Fashola.”

http://www.punchng.com/news/n78-3m-website-cacol-replies-fashola-insists-on-allegation/

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My question is this: is it right for a governor to use state funds for his personal projects? Is that not misappropriation of state funds/taxpayer's money?

hmm

Even with all the App development for all mobile phone OS platforms 78 million naira is just ludicrous.

Fashola is a big theif

Fashola must be jailed

Raji fashola tagged himself a "pig" amazing cos according to Oxford Advanced learner's dictionary that's who he truly is

Just domesticate FOI in Lagos as Jonathan did in federal level...and people will weep at the quantum of corruption and looting of HIGHEST order going on there...