Jimi Agbaje, the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial candidate in Lagos state, says he will
free Lagos state from Alphabeta Consulting.
According to Agbaje, Alphabeta
Consulting receives a particular — unknown — percentage of every dime Lagos earns
in taxes and revenues, which he says is against international best practices.
“I could be here all day talking
about Free Lagos. Let me start from the basic freedom of information Act, Lagos
is still run like a closed shop, like a private company,” Agbaje told Channels
TV on Sunday Politics.
“Lagos has refused to domesticate
the freedom of information bill, so we don’t know what plays out in Lagos. So
we are talking of freedom to have access to exactly how they are running our
government.
“In the last 20 years, Lagos has
spent some N7 trillion, and we are asking what have we got for N7 trillion? Are
we getting value for money?
“Out of that N7 trillion, there
is a private company that takes a percentage of that N7 trillion, and we are
asking, for what purpose? There is private company fund collector, Alphabeta or
whatever, collects that much.
“We don’t even know what the
percentage is; it could be 12 percent, 10 percent, it could be 8 percent.”
When asked if the company was
legal or not, he said “it is not about being legal, it is about being moral,
because if you tell me that of every amount of money that Lagos spends, there
is a private company that is collecting, and I am asking, that is taxpayers
money, why should it be, to what purpose?”
“It is against standard practice
because we don’t see what they are doing and we don’t even know what the
percentage is, and I don’t see value for money, so its freedom from that.”
TINUBU MADE ME OFFERS
Speaking of his relationship with
Bola Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos state and a strong godfather in the
state, Agbaje said he has no feud with Tinubu.
He adds that Tinubu is his
friend, but they disagree on principle and brands of democracy.
“There was never a feud, I think
it is very wrong to say that there was a feud, there has never been a feud,”
Agbaje added.
Asked if it was anger that made
him leave Tinubu’s camp, he said “it wasn’t about anger, it was about
principle, don’t forget that even after that, offers were given to me, it is
not about that, it is about principles. I don’t have any feud with anybody”.
When asked if they are still
friends, Agbaje said “yes, we were political associates, we were in the same
camp, and in 2007, I felt the way democracy was being practiced by him was not
the way I understood democracy to be practiced, so I took an option to opt
out”.
He said the All Progressives
Congress guber primaries in Lagos was a mockery of democracy, and since then
governance has come to a near-zero in Lagos state.
Agbaje said traffic situation has
gotten worse, waste management has been abandoned, and he called on Lagosians
to choose between one man’s Lagos and the people’s Lagos.
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Tinubu ruin my ex-company Olusola Adekanola & Co till date while he went and establish his own company Alpha Beta now they invading tax, that is why is going extra mile to see that Buhari win otherwise he knows that he will be exposed front and back and the time has come, God Almighty will will surely deliver Nigeria from these afternoon day robbers
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