The Chairman of the Lagos State chapter of the People Democratic Party, Mr. Tunji Shelle, recently spoke concerning the recent restriction of information flow from the state government and other issues.
Shelle said the government was restricting information because there it had skeletons in the cupboard.
His words: “A government that does not have something to hide should at least allow commissioners to talk to the public. Such a government should be able to allow director-generals to speak authoritatively on issues that have to do with their respective ministries. They all don’t have to go through the Ministry of Information to talk about governance in Lagos State. If they do budget and collect loans and don’t tell us how they spent the money, then definitely, they have something to hide.
“If the government is a democratic government and not a military government, then they should be able to speak. We will continue to talk about this. It’s nothing personal. We are not criticising Fashola, we are criticising the administration. We want things to be better. Government is supposed to be open and should be run better than they are doing. Lagos State is supposed to domesticate the Freedom of Information Act, if truly they are running a democratic government.
“If commissioners can’t speak, who then can speak? Is it only the governor, or the commissioner for information? They should be open and tell us how they are using the budget and running the government.”
Also he described some of the ongoing projects in Lagos like Eko Atlantic City and Lekki toll roads as evidence of corruption in the Fashola administration.
He said, ” I have mentioned some things like the fact that public hospitals are not working. They may paint them from outside, but inside, nothing is happening. Some of the hospitals have even been privatised. The fees of the Lagos State University are so high that no average Nigerian can to afford it. Fashola benefitted from free education in Lagos, one would expect that at least there should be compassion in governance. The poor need to survive too. You don’t rub the poor to pay the rich. Why are you sand-filling the Atlantic Ocean, when there are still lands? When you sand-fill it and sell it at exorbitant prices that means you are allowing thieves to come and invest in the state. It doesn’t make sense. There is still land in Badagry, Ikorodu and Epe. Government can take advantage of the places and decongest the city, instead of congesting Victoria Island and putting a toll gate in Lekki. These are signs of corruption of the mind, corruption of the soul and corruption of the spirit. Everything is corruption. That is why we are trying as much as possible to change in the politics of Lagos.”