Encomium
FORMER governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) has kept sealed lips on the allegation that he spent a whopping sum of N78 million to upgrade his website, www.tundefashola.com, while in office.
Neither the former governor nor his media aide (Mr. Akeem Bello),responded to our calls and text messages on the issue.
Throughout last week, the internet was awash with the story that the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency published it on its website that N78 million was paid to upgrade the former governor’s website. The report was said to have been published by Budgit, a budget analytic firm. The only person or organization that responded to the outrageous amount is the company, Info Access Plus Limited, which was said to have been paid the amount.
Info Access Plus Limited, in its response, said its quotation for the job was N12.5 million, and the state eventually spent N10 million.
Info Access Plus Limited went further to say that the website www.tundefashola.com was not a personal website of the former governor but an official website which reports and documents his official activities as a way of socially accounting for his stewardship to the people of Lagos State.
The company said the selective loading of contracts awarded and executed by the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency by Lagos State government is “itself suspect and aimed at a pre-determined end.”
The company concluded that “the statement of the contract line item and the cost ascribed on the website of the agency are, therefore, misleading and mischievous.”
The fact that the response of Info Access Plus Limited, was not officially signed by anybody and the fact the company itself could not be located or reached on any website also raised the authenticity or otherwise of the response.
-TOLANI ABATTI
