Babatunde Fashola, the departing minister of works and housing, has admitted that if left to himself, he would have ceased serving as a minister since last year.
This is in accordance with the minister’s statement that his handover note had been ready since September 2022.
Fashola claimed he would have left what was left for the future administration to take over in response to President Muhammadu Buhari’s order that all cabinet members should continue working in their separate offices until May 29, 2023.
At the contract signing event for the value-added concession under the highway construction and management project, the minister disclosed this information.
He submitted that;
So there is a conversation going on out there, asking why we are still working. People are asking why we are awarding contracts, so maybe we should stop here and wait for the incoming administration to sign this agreement.
“Is that not better,” the minister was reported to have queried with the participants echoing a loud “No” in response.
He furthermore stated that;
There is an argument going on out there. I think it is a conversation we must have because some people don’t like the party in government.
And I think in order to enrich our democracy, we must begin to have conversations if the government must stop work.
For me personally, I prepared my handover note last year in September, but more work kept coming, so I would have stopped work since September.
Even today, some people are still sending me messages to sign a Certificate of Occupancy.