The Lagos state House of Assembly has summoned the Chief of Staff to Governor Babajide Sanwoolu, Mr. Tayo Ayinde; Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget; Commissioner for Special Duties and management of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) over the whereabouts of three helicopters belonging to the state government.
Raising this under Matters of Urgent Public Importance during plenary Monday, the Chief Whip of the Assembly, Mojisola Miranda, stated that the offices and MDAs in charge of the helicopters should be written to and that the Assembly should know the agreement between the state government and Caverton Helicopters managing the helicopters.
“If you may recall, in 2007, the House of Assembly passed a bill for the establishment of the LSSTF for the state government to equip and strengthen the security agencies in the state.
“In 2015, three helicopters were bought under Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to strengthen security in the state. But, the helicopters are nowhere to be found now.
“I will want us to look at it and get the concerned parties to tell the House the location of the three helicopters to see if they are just lying fallow or if the state government has entered into an agreement with an entity on the equipment and see to what extent the agreement has been working,” she said.
Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa, pointed out that the helicopters were meant for dual purposes, and that they were meant to be used for security purposes and for commercial purposes.
Obasa emphasised that the House should just try to know what has accrued to the state from the helicopters so far, saying that this was the first time the Assembly would be talking about the equipment.
“What we have said so far has nothing to do with the image of the state or the Assembly. What the Chief Whip has done is not too much. We need to know what has happened to the helicopters,” he said.
In his contribution, Rotimi Olowo (Shomolu 1) said a commissioner told the House then that they had an agreement with Caverton Nigeria Limited to operate the helicopters so that the state government would make some money from the operations.
This was corroborated by Abiodun Tobun (Epe 1), who said the helicopters should be at the reach of the state for security purposes.