Funso Doherty, a Lagos-based chartered accountant, and politician, has revealed that the Lagos State Government (LASG) allocated in its 2023 budget N400 million for a charter plane, N440 million for SUVs, N7 million for diffusers, among other items recently approved for procurement.
This was revealed in an open letter of public procurement addressed to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and signed by the Doherty dated 17th of November, 2023.
In the letter, Doherty highlighted some of the procurements he expects the state government to review and explain to the public the structure of the budgetary allocation.
The revelation cited the register of public procurement of the state government for the second and third quarters of 2023.
He listed some of the following luxuries allocated in the budget, saying,
A sum of N69.9 billion was allocated to Repair the Eti Osa/ Lekki Expressway
Furthermore, the chartered accountants also demanded that the government account for how it spent the exorbitant sum of N69.9 billion to repair an existing road linking Eti Osa/Lekki expressway
In addition, Doherty also tasked the government to explain the N70 billion allocated for the construction of Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) commuting from Mile 2 to Okokomaiko in 2008.
According to him, this project was supposed to be completed in 2011, but it was only partially completed until 2023. On that note, he tasked the government to evaluate the N218 billion now allocated for phase 2 of the construction.
He said,
In his critique, Funso Doherty not only casts a spotlight on specific expenditures he deems extravagant in the Lagos State Government’s budget, but he also urges for greater transparency and accountability.
See his tweets
https://x.com/funsodoherty/status/1725897382682849540?s=20
See the letter below
Note: This article has been updated to clarify that Funso Doherty’s letter references the Lagos State Government’s procurement document, which he cited.
