The Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) has demanded that a state of emergency be declared on education in Lagos State.
This came on the heels of the defence put up by the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, against the allegations that the state mismanaged the $90m loan given to it by the World Bank for improving educational standard.
Fashola who spoke during the inauguration of a book titled, ‘Lagos Eko Project 2009-2013: A legacy of Excellence’, on Tuesday in Lagos, claimed that the money was used for what it was meant, adding that the state could give account of how the fund was utilised.
The governor stressed further that those criticising the state needed to be well informed about the policies of government, noting that a committee was set up to monitor the use of the fund.
Speaking on behalf of the Coalition, its Executive Chairman, Mr. Debo Adeniran averred that the activities of the Lagos State government have been shrouded in secrecy which makes it difficult for Lagosians to believe the governor.
“The activities of Governor Fashola’s administration have been ones shrouded in so much secrecy that his word alone is unacceptable. If the state has spent so much on the schools as they claim, why is it not reflecting on the projects they have executed? Why are they afraid to allow independent assessors assess the projects vis-a-vis the grant got from the World Bank? These and many questions need to be answered before people could be convinced that the money was judiciously spent as claimed by Mr. Governor.
“This is a government that failed to render its account to Lagosians even when they demanded for it. It is worthy to note that we wrote to the government many times for permission to assess some of the projects the schools claimed they expended the Eko Project Funds on; all we met was brick wall. If the schools, by extension, the government do not have anything to hide, they shouldn’t have shielded people from inspecting their projects.
“As a matter of fact, we are calling that a state of emergency be declared on primary, secondary and tertiary education in Lagos State”, it stated.
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