The Action Democratic Party, ADP, has called on the governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode to terminate the service of Alpha Beta Consulting from Lagos State revenue collection service.
The party, on Saturday, March 10, 2018 says that it is making this call due to the controversies that the company have been enmeshed in; from the allegations of fraud, to over-charge and the claims that the company is been used as conduit pipe to send public money into private pockets.
In an e-mailed statement to The Trent signed by Lagos ADP spokesperson, Prince Adelaja Adeoye, the party said that Governor Ambode must prove that his loyalty lies with Lagosians and not some vested interests who are hell bent on milking the state dry, stressing that the insertion of Alpha Beta into the Land Use Act was a deliberate move to legitimize the hold of some greedy private individuals on Lagos contrary to the watery excuses given by the spokesman of Lagos State House of Assembly that the insertion was an error.
ADP says that Lagos State must cultivate the culture of transparency, commitment and loyalty to residents. The party says that information in public domain has it that Alpha Beta receives close to 30% service charge on all collections on behalf of the Lagos State government. The ADP regards this as outrageous and an open affront to the residents of the state if the allegations are founded.
ADP wonders why Lagosians must be subjected to such huge service charges, a service that could be perfectly rendered by commercial banks for far less. It says that unless the Lagos state government is out to empower cronies, Alpha Beta should be laid off with immediate effect.
ADP says that the governor should look into the books of Alpha Beta to know how much that has been collected on behalf of Lagos State since they came on board and this should be published on the Lagos State website for the public to scrutinize it.
The party states that they were aware of an insertion of one VisionScape, a private waste management company into the environmental act which was later removed in the final draft when the actors sensed that there will be public outrage. The party wonders why a Dubai company should be considered for waste management when there are effective Nigerian companies that can do same comfortably.
ADP says that the governor should not mortgage the state to companies owned by some private individuals. Adelaja says that establishments such as the Lekki Concession Company (LCC) who recently jacked up toll fees despite series of protests and public outcry are positioned just to milk the residents dry.
The party also charged Governor Ambode to set up a panel of inquiry to investigate the allegations that some property belonging to Lagos State have been converted to private use by some individuals.
The ADP has however assured Lagosians that they will do things differently if given the opportunity in 2019 and that all the anti-people policies put in place by APC led government will be reviewed and booted out to be replaced by pro-people policies. The party tells Lagosians that unless they vote differently in the coming elections, the hegemony being experienced in Lagos will continue unabated.
