Lagos assembly sets up committee to recover government assets

The Lagos State House of Assembly has constituted an eight-member ad hoc committee to identify, document and facilitate the recovery of government-owned assets.

It also mandated the committee to establish the status of documented and undocumented properties and other assets belonging to the state government.

The committee’s chairman, Obafemi Saheed, said on Friday that the exercise was part of the assembly’s oversight responsibilities to promote accountability and ensure prudent management of public resources.

Mr Saheed said the committee would scrutinise government expenditure, monitor the utilisation of public funds and ensure taxpayers’ money was applied to approved purposes.

“This exercise will help determine the assets owned by the state, assess their current conditions and establish whether they were being effectively utilised for the benefit of residents,” he said.

He urged Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that were yet to submit the requested documents to do so without further delay and appear before the committee as scheduled.

Mr Saheed warned that heads of MDAs and other institutions who failed to honour invitations or treated the proceedings with disdain would face appropriate legislative action.

He said the committee had the power to subpoena individuals and could seek the assembly’s approval to issue arrest warrants against those who refused to comply.

The MDAs that already appeared before the committee included the Lagos State New Town Development Authority (NTDA), Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) and Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA).

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Others were the Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture and the Ministries of Basic and Secondary Education, Tertiary Education, and Wealth Creation and Employment, Lagos State Ferry Services, Lagos State Printing Corporation, Lagos State Agriculture Input Supply Authority and Lagos State Agricultural Development Authority.

During the engagements, the committee sought clarifications from the agencies and directed them to provide comprehensive records of all assets under their custody, including documented and undocumented properties.

The exercise aims to identify, verify and facilitate the recovery of government assets for the benefit of Lagos residents.

The committee is expected to continue the exercise, with other MDAs scheduled to appear before it.

Other lawmakers present at the meeting were Jubreel Abdulkareem, Olayinka Kazeem, Samuel Apata, Sobur Oluwa and Bonu Solomon.