Lagos Assembly begins probe of indicted Ministries, Departments, Agencies
Group asks court to declare registration of Lagos residents illegal
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Lagos State House of Assembly has begun probe of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the government in relation to the state’s Auditor-General’s report for 2021.
Chairman of the committee, Saka Solaja, disclosed this, yesterday, when he and his colleagues received the first set of government officials summoned to respond to queries raised in the report.
Solaja, who noted that the probe would cover economic activities of all the MDAs between January 1 and December 31, 2021, said that though the probe was Herculean, it must be accomplished if the state must be moved forward to attain probity, especially as public expectations are high.
He said that at the end of the exercise, the committee’s findings would be presented to the House for further deliberation and action.
Besides, he promised that resolutions on outcome of the probe would facilitate effective management of resources in the state.
MEANWHILE, an advocacy group, Initiative for Golden Rule of Life Advocacy, has asked a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos State to declare the Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA) law illegal and unconstitutional.
The group, in the suit, said the state has no power, legal right or responsibility to register Nigerians that reside in Lagos.
In the suit, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Attorney-General of Lagos State and Lagos State Residents’ Registration Agency, were joined as first to third respondents respectively.
The plaintiff’s counsel, Mr. Oluwole Kehinde, stated that it is the sole responsibility of NIMC to register citizens of Nigeria in any part of the country and to also issue identification cards to such persons in accordance with the law that established it.
It, therefore, urged the court to restrain the attorney-general and the registration agency, whether by themselves, their officials, officers, agents, servants or whosoever, from the registration and issuance of identity cards to Nigerians residing in Lagos State.
The group also prayed the court for an order, “setting aside any registration of and/or issuance of identity cards to Nigerians resident in Lagos State, including members of the plaintiff, by the Lagos State Government, pursuant to the Lagos State Residents Registration Agency Law, or any law whatsoever, as same is unconstitutional, illegal, null and void and of no effect whatsoever.”
