Group advises Buhari against making Fashola a minister

A civil society group, Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, has advised President Muhammadu Buhari against considering making the immediate past governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola a minister, Punch reports. The Executive Chairman of the group, Debo Adeniran, said following the number of controversies that trailed the administration of Fashola as governor of Lagos State, he deserves no ministerial appointment. He noted that when the Socio-Economic Right Accountability Project invoked the Freedom of Information Act to know how the Fashola government spent a $200m World Bank education funds, the state government refused to disclose it. He said instead, the state government continued to run its affairs in secrecy by claiming that the FOI Act did not apply to state governments. Adeniran said independent investigations by his organisation showed that the 1.36km Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge which was reportedly built for N25bn, cost only N6bn. He said he had written a series of petitions to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to probe the various projects of the Fashola government in the face of the over N500bn debt left behind by the government.