As governor, I have not purchased a single vehicle for myself with Lagos funds —Sanwo-Olu

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Thursday urged his colleagues in other states of the federation to look into their expenditure profile and do away with unnecessary spending.

Sanwo-Olu, who made the call at the 22nd Annual Tax Conference of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) held at Victoria Island, Lagos, said cutting unnecessary spending would increase the state’s revenue for the government to meet the basic needs of the people.

He urged public office holders to make better utilisation of taxpayers’ money in order to build the trust of the citizens.

The governor also claimed that he had not used state resources to purchase any vehicle for himself since he assumed office on May 29, 2019.

Sanwo-Olu said: “We need to look at our expenditure profile as Chief Executive of our state and ask ourselves, where can I cut the red tape; what can I do away with so as to increase the revenue of my state or even make available more money for my state.

“What I have done till date is that I have not purchased any single official vehicle for myself, for any of my personal staff or any of my family members from the government purse.

“If you see me on a convoy of 10 vehicles, these are vehicles I was using during my campaigns.

READ ALSO: Sanwo-Olu signs executive order to establish Lagos Rebuilding Trust Fund

“Governor Nasir El-Rufai joined me in one of my cars this morning and I can tell you that vehicle was one of the vehicles I used for my campaign; it is not brand new.

“So, I said to my people, it is not a fanciful thing that every governor must begin to buy brand new vehicles when you do not need to. So, all of those millions have gone back into the treasury of the state and we are using it to develop the state very well.”

The governor also charged his colleagues to increase revenue generation in their states without totally relying on revenue from oil.

In his address, El-Rufai commended Sanwo-Olu’s leadership in managing the affairs of Lagos and the effort to rebuild the state after the massive destruction that marred the peaceful #EndSARS protests organised by the youth recently.

“Whatever happens in Lagos concerns everybody because it is the economic hub of the country while Kaduna State is the political hub.

“I can assure you that all the 35 governors will support your rebuilding Lagos project,” he stated.

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