Assembly confirms list of 20 commissioners, 14 advisers

LAGOS State House of Assembly yesterday confirmed the list of 37-man nominees for State Executive Council as presented by governor Akinwunmi Ambode three weeks ago. The confirmation was granted at Thursday’s plenary after the last nominee, Yetunde Onabule, was screened and report of the ad-hoc screening committee was taken.

And with the House satisfied with all nominees, Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa, directed the Clerk to send a copy of their confirmation list to the governor.

The 37-man list, out of which 20 will be commissioners and 14 special advisers has: former Deputy Majority Leader of the Lagos Assembly, Lola Akande; Adebimpe Akinsola; Dr. Jide Idris (former health commissioner); Musiliu Folami (former SA); Babatunde Hunpe (former SA); Ganiyu Johnson (former SA); Tunde Durosimi-Etti; Gbolahan Lawal (former Commissioner for Agriculture); Folarin Coker (former SA); Abdul-lateef AbdulHakeem (former SA); Dr. Dayo Mobereola (CEO of LAMATA); Seye Oladejo (former SA) and Kehinde Bamgbetan (former chairman of Ejigbo LCDA).

Others are: Ganiu Okanlomo Sanni; Agboola Dabiri; Yetunde Onabule; Rotimi Ogunleye; Kehinde Joseph; Akinyemi Ashade; Wasiu Anifowose; Dr. Benson Akintola; Dr. Femi Onanuga; Femi Odubiyi; Dr. Mustapha Akinkunmi, Fela Bank-Olemoh and Wale Oluwo. Niji Kazeem; Benjamin Adeyemi Labinjo; Toyin Suarau; Anofi Elegusi; Prof Ademola Abass; Deji Tinubu; Dr. Babatunde Adejare (former member of the House of Representatives); Munirat Giwanson; Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf; Engr Ade Adesanya and Steve Ayorinde.

It would be recalled that the House had set up a 15-man ad-hoc committee to screen the nominees during a week-long exercise last week. At the resumption of plenary on Tuesday, the nominees were also brought to the floor of the House to tell the lawmakers about themselves.

Chairman of the 15-man ad-hoc screening committee, Wasiu Eshinlokun-Sanni, in his report to the House on Thursday said the nominees fulfilled all the relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution, and therefore found to be fit to be members of the Lagos State Executive Council.

In response to petitions written against four of the nominees, Eshinlokun-Sanni said the committee made diligent efforts to investigate the allegations, but none of the candidates were found culpable. He added that the committee wrote to the Directorate of State Security (DSS) to profile all the candidates, but as at the time of presenting the committee’s report, the directorate was yet to raise any red flag.