#EndSARS protests: Gov Sanwo-Olu suspends aide over social media post

Governor Sanwo-Olu Suspends Senior Media Aide Over Misrepresentation on Social Media

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has suspended his Senior Special Assistant on Print Media, Wale Ajetunmobi, for what was described as the “misrepresentation of facts” on his personal X (formerly Twitter) account.

The suspension was confirmed on Tuesday in a statement by the governor’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Gboyega Akosile. According to the statement, the incident stemmed from a now-deleted post made by Ajetunmobi on November 23, in which he alleged that individuals who burned a media outlet during the 2020 #EndSARS protests were “hunted down and executed.”

“The full story of people who burnt down TVC in 2020 will be told one day, with gory clips and images. One thing to note: majority of them have been hunted down and executed,” he wrote on X with his handle @Riddwane

“One of them, a young boy trading in cooking gas around Ketu, was found with an AK-47 at the site. Even his neighbours were shocked. But the full gist is better saved for later.”

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When asked to clarify his statement, he replied, “Lol… you want to create a narrative in your head. What is extrajudicial killing here? Some of the people were chased by soldiers and exchange of fire occurred.

“Then arsonists were overpowered and killed in the process. Others ran away. Is that an extra-judicial killing to you?”

‘That is Not Who We Are’

Days after the comment, Akosile said Governor Sanwo-Olu “wishes to state categorically that his administration frowns at any form of extra-judicial punishment and will not be a part of any such action. That is not who we are. That is not our way”.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State House of Assembly on Monday debated the 2025 appropriation bill of N3.005 trillion presented to the lawmakers by Governor Sanwo-Olu last Thursday.

The Speaker of the House Mudashiru Obasa, who presided over the plenary, committed the bill to a joint committee on appropriation and finance for review with a mandate to report back in one month.

Earlier during the plenary, the Chairman of the House Committee on Budget and Economic Planning Sa’ad Olumoh gave an overview of the proposed spending with a breakdown of items in the budget estimate.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly Eromosele Ebhomele said Olumoh raised concerns over the projection of N408 billion deficit financing in the budget.

Olumoh, who noted that loans are good when used for the actual purposes, however, said: “We have to be cautious about it. We need to have a sustainable and pragmatic way of financing our budget so that we don’t rely solely on loans.

“So I would suggest that we look at a realistic budget and ways to finance it using alternatives like the Public Private Partnership models.

“I also want to implore my colleagues that for the purpose of the 2025 budget, we need to properly scrutinise it to prevent wastage.”

(Channels)