LAGOS, FOI ACT AND COURT JUDGEMENT

    

I was dumbfounded recently when Ade Ipaye,Lagos state commissioner for Justice said the provisions in the Freedom Of Information Act does not apply to Lagos.This argument arose when the an accountability group challenged the state government to provide information on all the myriads of loans collected by the state.

The government has been in the news following series of loans obtained by the state and more are in the offing.Even the world bank has promised anothe $150m for power projects in the state.The government had said these are development and infrastructural loans.I agree totally and the state has done a lot in this direction.Iam not a fan of the governor but on road construction alone,I doff my hat for the amiable governor.Looking at Mile 2 - Badagry Expressway reconstruction and the light rail project going on simultaneously, the governor has done well.That said.The governnor is a brilliant lawyer and a SAN therefore, he should not have problems with legal matters.The commissioner is a lawyer just like the governor should know that in a federation like ours, any law of the federation that falls under the jurissdiction of the Natioanal Assembly applies to all states except Lagos is not part of Nigeria.

The basis for sharing in the national resources of Nigeria by all states of the Federation is a by an Act of Parliament derived from the constitution.Lagos and the party,APC has formed a habit of obeying the law of the Federation that suits them.If it had been PDP, Lai Mohammed would have gone loose.So is this what we will witness when they come to power at the centre?

Another case in point is the government refusal to obey a court judgment putting a stop to tolling on Lekki-Ikoyi bridge.The government, represented by Ade Ipaye, kept twisting a court judgement and refused to stop toll collection on the bridge.Thank God for the boldness of Lawyer Ebun Adegoruwa for his concern about the hardship tolling on the bridge will bring to Lagosians.He was resolute to get justice for road users and he got it on March 27,2014.Tolling is still going on the road and Ade Ipaye and the governor are in the noble legal profession.Anyway it is not only PDP that is destroying the profession of its members.They have an ally in APC.