The Burden of Fashola Years

If the news coming out from the grapevine about the unhealthy financial state of Lagos state is anything to go by, we may be in for a serious economic crisis. Governor Akinwunmi Ambode may need more than financial wizardry to navigate the troubled financial waters, a condition which his predecessor, former Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, created before he left office on May 29. Added to this is the messy situation in which Fashola left the Lagos State Civil Service through alleged nepotism which is causing ripples as he has allegedly upset the Civil Service tradition by populating it with his relations and acquaintances without due process. This has become the talk of the town at popular joints.

The official debt profile of Lagos State handed over to Ambode by Fashola is N418 billion (Four Hundred and Eighteen billion naira) but investigation has revealed that it may eventually hit N500 billion (Five Hundred billion naira) and still counting. This is a cause of worry and may be a major obstacle to Ambode in delivering his electoral promises. It will take Ambode’s financial wizardry and his well-grounded background in economic planning to take the state out of economic doldrums. Sources at Alausa reveals a gory picture of debt profile of a gargantuan nature and this excludes commitment to contractors over projects that are yet to be completed.

It is disheartening and disappointing to note that the 2015 budget of the state has been drawn down by the outgone administration of Fashola to about 80 percent as at May, 2015 when it was not expected to have drawn more than 30 per cent. The financial recklessness of the Fashola administration is shocking with such a percentage of the budget drawn by him without any corresponding project he can point to on which it was spent. This is viewed as a deliberate ploy to create financial problems for the Ambode administration.

If these allegations are found to be true, it may overshadow whatever achievements that may have been credited to the Fashola administration in the last eight years. While it is normal for states to borrow from the capital market to execute projects, this should not be taken to abnormal heights such that it would paralyse activities in the state and create a condition of economic bondage for his successor, more so when the amount purportedly owed is not commensurate with projects on ground.

Apart from putting all his residual experience into use, Ambode may not be able to run his government without a supplementary budget as what is left behind by Fashola is a depleted budget which may hamper the take-off of his administration not to talk of executing any capital project as many commitments to contractors have piled up.

A look at the 2015 Lagos State budget shows that many projects prioritised by the Fashola administration are those without return on investments and this does not make any economic sense. His pronouncement when presenting the budget to the House of Assembly that he had retained the same size of the budget of 2014 in order to keep zero deficit for the incoming government is only on paper as that has not happened.

Despite Fashola’s insistence that the 2015 budget would focus on the payment of contractors (and we know the reason for that is to mop up), it is curious that most obligations to contractors are still not met such that the debt profile at about N500 billion naira is still stupendously high and scary.

Apart from the apparent financial recklessness of the Fashola administration stated above, he has allegedly polluted the Lagos State Civil Service by allegedly imposing his relatives and cronies while by-passing the state Civil Service rules. The story is all over the place how Fashola allegedly unilaterally recruited members of his family into the civil service, placing them on Directorate level without going through normal recruitment.

There was the case of a lady who, on the alleged directive of Fashola, was placed on grade level 16 without previously being a civil servant. There is yet another one who he first appointed as the Deputy Chief of Staff and was later placed on level 17 in the Civil service. This is already causing ripples in the civil service as tongues are wagging on the undue advantage of non-civil servants brought by the governor to become bosses over bonafide civil servants who had gone through the crucibles of recruitment, training and promotion examinations. If this is true, it is a scandal that stinks to high heavens and will shock all lovers of Fashola.

I charge governor Ambode to conduct a thorough investigation into this allegations with a view to rectifying the abnormality as it is capable of lowering the morale of civil servants who already felt short-changed with the abnormal recruitment. If this is not rectified, it is capable of affecting the performance of the civil servants who may in turn not put in their best in implementing the reforms planned by Governor Ambode.

I also strongly advise Governor Ambode not to cover up the huge financial burden and the alleged mismanagement of his predecessor, so that he doesn’t cover smoke with a blanket. The earlier he let Lagosians know the true state of the finances of Lagos State, the better. I just hope these stories about financial impropriety and abuse of office against Fashola are not true. I still want to give him a benefit of the doubt but if they are true, many Fashola’s fans would be more than disappointed.

Meanwhile, Governor Ambode should brace up for the task ahead for the financial redemption of Lagos State. He must go back to his bag of financial wizardry to bring out all the remedies he knows, to wriggle out of the financial quagmire his predecessor might have put the state. He needs to put on, or even double his thinking cap at this critical juncture, especially with ominous signs on dwindling revenue from the federation account.

Anything short of this will spell doom for Ambode’s planned lofty programmes as there will be no foundation to build on as Fashola built on the foundation of his predecessor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Fashola would not have achieved much if his predecessor left a mountain of inexplicable and inconsiderate debts for him.

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