Lagos: Sanwo-Olu’s govt opens up on acquisition of N440m bulletproof SUVs
The Lagos State Public Procurement Agency has reacted to reports that the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu government spent the sum of N440,750 million on the acquisition of a Bullet Proof Sport Utility vehicle.
The acquisition of the vehicle was revealed in publicized details of contracts awarded in the second and third quarters of 2023.
Details of the procurement deals awarded by the Lagos State government have continued to generate criticism in the public space after the governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, in Lagos, Funso Doherty, raised the alarm over the contracts.
Doherty, through his verified X handle, had tackled Sanwo-Olu for spending N2 billion on the procurement of fans, rechargeable lights and fridges, N18 million for chickens and N440,750 million on the procurement of a brand new Lexus LX 600 Bullet Proof Sport Utility Vehicle all for the office of Chief of Staff amid severe economic hardship Lagosians are grappling with.
But, in a statement by Mr Fatai Onafowote, the Director General, the Public Procurement Agency apologized for the lack of clarity and details in the Lagos State Government procurement records posted on its website.
Onafowote explained that the procurement of the N440,750 million bulletproof vehicle is in tandem with current realities.
The agency said, “Our attention has been drawn to recent concerns regarding certain information posted on the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency’s website. Acknowledging the misunderstandings arising from a lack of clarity, we recognize the unintended misinterpretations.
“We regret the specific details, particularly concerning the description of government dealings, may have inadvertently led to confusion, impacting both government entities and corporate partners providing services to the state.
“This arose largely from the lack of detailed descriptions in the project information, which inadvertently led to confusion in the public space,” the statement partly reads.
N5.09 billion allocated for a Presidential Yacht and N160 billion for lawmakers’ SUVs were among controversial allocations that trailed the N2.176 trillion Supplementary Budget before President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed it into law.
