Contrary to the misleading headlines in some online publications concerning the procurement of some vehicles for the members of the Lagos State House of Assembly, sources said while the content of the report was true to some extent, the headline was not only misleading, but also wickedly.
In a statement Tuesday, it has been revealed that Rt. Hon. Mojisola Meranda never made any withdrawal from the account of Lagos Assembly, rather she only made a downward review on existing procurement approval by Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa.
In doing that, the former Speaker saved the assembly the sum of N2 billion.
Below are the details of the matter:
I. Obasa had done an approval for the purchase of 35 units of Toyota Fortuner SUV and 10 units of Toyota Prado from Dubai at N7 billion. As a matter of fact he made the approval on 23rd December, 2024.
II. Upon his (Obasa) removal, Rt.Hon. Mojisola Meranda reviewed the approval and called for a bidding locally and approved the sum of N5 billion for 32 units of 2025 Toyota Prado SUV and 7 units of Toyota Landcruiser 2025 at the sum of N5 billion, saving N2 billion for the House.
III. Unlike Obasa who had planned to import the vehicles from Dubai, all the cars were locally supplied.
IV. It is imperative to note that no money was withdrawn by Rt. Hon. Meranda as she only reviewed an existing approval.
V. Interestingly, Hon. Meranda spent far less money to acquire better quality cars and didn’t even approve a single one for the office of the Speaker that she occupied.
