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Press Release: LASG defends integrity

Monday, 21 July 2008

The Lagos State Government yesterday stoutly defended its integrity pointing out that recent publications of THIS DAY newspaper casting aspersion on its character were borne out of malice, mischief and parochial self-interest.

Mr Opeyemi Bamidele, the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, told journalists in Lagos yesterday that, contrary to insinuations by THIS DAY, the state government strictly follows due process and transparency in the award of all contracts.

According to him, “Hi-tech is a highly reputable and reliable construction company that has handled projects of very high standard in Lagos State and at costs that are even lower than the rates used by the Federal Government”.

The Commissioner cited some of the jobs satisfactorily handled by Hi-tech to include the reconstruction of Saka Tinubu Street, Victoria Island, which has a very difficult terrain, construction of Adetokunbo Ademola road, rehabilitation of the bridge to Aboyade Cole, rehabilitation and expansion of Bishop Oluwole road and the ongoing reclamation, stabilization and transformation of the Bar Beach.

Mr Bamidele regretted that THIS DAY misled its readers on the cause of the Ijegun Pipeline fire disaster when the National Assembly in a resolution had asked the NNPC to pay compensation to the victims of the fire for not properly burying and encasing their pipelines and properly identifying their setbacks for pipelines.

In the same vein, he explained that the Lekki Infrastructure project, involving the Lekki Concession Company, is a heavy direct private sector investment in the country and it is thus not the business of the Lagos state government to select the contractor.

“All Nigerians can bear witness today to the high quality of work done so far on the first two kilometers of the Lekki – Epe Expressway already delivered by the Concessionares” the commissioner said.

He equally dismissed claims that the cost of projects in Lagos State are shrouded in secrecy stressing that “details of our project costs can be found in our budgetary breakdown and in several publications of the government, which are in the public domain. There is absolutely no reason for a government that is doing so much that is visible to hide the cost of its undeniable achievements”.

The Commissioner said further that the Lagos State government has no business dealings with any individual or corporate organization indicted for violating any known laws of the country and does not intend to do so.

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