Sanwo-Olu asked to make refund following trip to Granada lavish party
Funso Doherty, a former governorship candidate, has questioned Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s recent trip to Granada.
Premium Times had exclusively reported that Governor Sanwo-Olu attended a lavish 50th birthday celebration hosted by a celebrity, Aisha Achimugu.
Achimugu, a wealthy business person, is the group managing director of Felak Concept Group, a conglomerate that includes interests in oil and gas, and infrastructure engineering.
Videos of the exclusive event have been trending on the social media, showing the host spraying wads of $100 bills.
Shortly after the story broke, Governor Sanwo-Olu publicly reported his trip. The governor admitted he travelled to the Island and met with Granada prime minister Dickson Mitchell, with both discussing “various aspects of our bilateral relations, focusing particularly on tourism, agriculture, and other economic interests that could benefit both our regions.”
“Additionally, I had the opportunity to attend some social events, further strengthening the ties between our two nations,” Governor Sanwo-Olu wrote on his social media handles.
In his open letter, Doherty said that although the governor was within his right to attend the social event, but only if such was personally funded by him and not with public funds.
He wrote: Mr. Governor, we will leave the judgment as to whether this trip to Granada was a good use of your time to you.
“However, it is imperative that you clarify how this trip was financed.
“In the unfortunate incident that this trip was funded by the LASG, you should consider making a refund of the costs of this trip to the state purse, as we do not consider that this expenditure was justifiable in the circumstances.”
Doherty added that “out of the 190 countries worldwide, Granada, the same country where you attended social engagements, was the coincidental choice for bilateral agreement on behalf of the Government and people of Lagos State.”
Doherty, who ran on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), lost to Babajide Sanwo-Olu in the governorship race. Doherty has since built a reputation for demanding transparency and accountability of the Lagos State Government.
Similarly, in a riposte, Premium Times accusedthe governor of misleading the citizens. The investigative newspaper wrote: “A visit to the official Facebook page of the Office of the Prime Minister of Granada… did not bear evidence of the Lagos State Governor’s “official visit.”
The newspaper said that it learned that “Mr Sanwo-Olu consciously avoided being photographed” during the social events. “But as hard as he tried, he was caught in some shots.”
