N78.3m website: CACOL replies Fashola, insists on allegation

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.”