A former Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Olawale Oluwo, has denied indicting former governor Akinwunmi Ambode.
Mr Ambode is being probed by the Lagos State House of Assembly over the controversial purchase of 820 mass transit buses for N45 billion.
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Oluwo had on December 5 resigned his position as commissioner and left the All Progressives Congress (APC).
However, PM News reported on Tuesday that Mr Oluwo told the ad hoc committee, which was set up by the assembly to conduct the probe, that many of the projects conducted by Ambode, including the Oshodi Interchange and others were never captured in the state budget.
In a letter to the managing director of PM News dated October 16 and made available to Qed.ng on Thursday, Oluwo said the report written by the news platform was a false representation of proceedings.
He wrote: “I attended the second session of the committee proceedings on October 15, 2019 and cannot remember seeing a reporter of PM News inside the committee room.
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“The Ex-Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Toyin Suarau, and I were called into the Committee room at the same time. So, the questions asked both of us were in the open.
“Suarau was asked questions on the Lagos State Rice Mill project in Imota while I was asked questions on the LED-UK street lights installations (a UK Exim Bank funded project).
“I answered the committee’s questions to the best of the information available to me and at no time was anyone of us asked questions on Oshodi Interchange or any other projects outside the two mentioned above.
“It is therefore very disturbing how a reporter of PM News, purportedly designated to cover the State House of assembly Committee proceedings, came about the report that ‘Suarau and Oluwo said many of the projects including the Oshodi Interchange and others were never captured in the state budget’….This is rather strange.
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“I have read the reports of all the other news media on the same event and found out that this false and offensive reportage is limited to only PM News. For the avoidance of doubt, I reiterate that I DID NOT AND COULD NEVER HAVE INDICTED FORMER GOVERNOR AKINWUNMI AMBODE!!! I am a committed democrat, a loyal team player and a strong believer in the principle of collective responsibility.
“It will serve the course of truth and professional journalism if this misconduct is investigated by the management of Independent Communications Network Limited (Publishers of PM News) and promptly corrected. By so doing, PM News would have succeeded in convincing the general public that it is unbiased and capable of staying above the fray in this high-wire political events unfolding in Lagos State.”
