It is no longer news that the governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode will not be running the affairs of the state come May 29. Despite the fact that Ambode is only in his first term in office as Governor, he was denied the chance of flying the party’s flag in this year’s governorship elections scheduled to hold next Saturday.
Ambode lost the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket during direct primaries held by the party last year. The governor was reportedly unhappy at the outcome of the situation and that much was visible in a televised address he made just before the primaries.
Ambode, who was expecting to earn the party’s ticket automatically, later admits defeat and promised to work with Jide Sanwo-Olu and ensure his the party candidate succeeds him.
However, a few weeks later, reports started making the rounds that Ambode was looking to defect from the party, the report also suggested that he was working against the interest of the candidate, a situation which prompted the State House of Assembly to consider impeachment moves against him.
However, the governor remained in the party and he has also played some part in Sanwo-Olu’s campaign. But trouble awaits Sanwo-Olu or any other candidate who eventually succeeds Ambode.
One of the governor’s many sins is the fact that he encouraged and indeed ordered the decimation of the State’s waste management body, LAWMA, in its place, the government contracted a private body called VisionScape to manage the collection and disposal of refuse.
This created problems for the private waste collectors who had been involved in waste disposal in the state for years in conjunction with the state government. Obviously, these partners were unhappy with the government and have made their case known to the party hierarchy.
However, beyond the discontent that the VisionScape scheme generated among those involved in the waste business, it has just been reported that the scheme has put the state government in huge debt.
Business Day reports that though the VisionScape owners claim to be private, the Lagos State government stood in as guarantors to the company while they were trying to obtain loans for from creditors. The terms of the deal stated that if the company defaults in its payment, the Lagos State Government will have to step in to fulfil the company’s obligations.
Recently, it was reported that VisionScape was not meeting its obligation to the creditors and it is now expected that the Lagos State Government will step in to rescue the company.
It is now suggested that the current situation could be a recurring event. Ambode will not be in the one to tackle the debt problem faced by the Lagos State Government through its relationship with VisionScape, and it now seems that a huge problem already awaits Sanwo-Olu or anyone else that will take charge of Lagos affairs from the governor in the coming months.
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