Governor's commissioners have been grumbling

Most of the commissioners serving under the administration of Lagos Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, have been on a grumbling spree,

Ambode has earned high praise for his work as number one citizen of Nigeria's commercial nerve center, since he mounted the saddle two years ago.

He has embarked on an infrastructure revamping scheme at break-neck speed, lit up most parts of the city and has opened up most of suburban Lagos through construction of access roads and bridges.

However, behind the scenes, a handful of a 37-man cabinet, isn't happy with the man calling the shots before the cameras.

And it all has to do with money.

"He signs all cheques and approves all monies for all ministries. Every expenditure, no matter how little, has to go through him", one aggrieved commissioner who pleaded that his name be left out of this story, told Pulse.

Another commissioner revealed that Ambode goes through all line items of budgets for each ministry before authorizing disbursement of funds.

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Most commissioners spoken to for this story say they have been made redundant because of Ambode's micro-managing governance style.

The Governor possesses a rich background in Accounting, which explains his methods.

In 2001, Ambode was Auditor General for Local Government in Lagos State.

Between 2006-2012, Ambode served as Accountant General for Lagos State.

He also had auditing spells in Badagry and Somolu local governments in the late '80s and early '90s.

"They are angry because there's no free money to share anymore as was the case in the past", one aide of the Governor told Pulse when the grievance of the commissioners was shared with him.

"The Governor has plugged all loopholes around the civil service. What's going on in Lagos is in keeping with the Buhari administration's objective to curb waste in the civil service and restore prudence in the public sector.

"Owambe (partying) days are over," the aide added.

Pulse can also report that Ambode will soon be effecting a cabinet reshuffle--most of the grumbling commissioners will be asked to take a walk for not pulling their weights well enough.

"The Governor is not happy with the performances of most of the commissioners and a host of them will soon be fired", one senior Lagos State government official disclosed.

The Governor is not one to shy away from wielding the big stick, though.

On October, 20, 2016, Ambode sacked MrFolorunsho Folarin-Coker as Tourism commissioner; Dr Mustapha Akinkunmi as Finance commissioner and Dr Ekundayo Mobereola as Transportation boss.

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Commissioner for information and strategy in Lagos, Steve Ayorinde, wasn't immediately available for comments for this story.

However, earlier in the year, Ayorinde reacted to a similar story this way: “If anyone resigns, only the person and the Governor can make the announcement. Also, only the Governor can announce a change of his cabinet. It is not appropriate to react to rumours.”

However, most of the commissioners now arrive the Alausa secretariat of Lagos, looking forlorn and depressed; their wings preened and clipped.

Most are no doubt aware that their days are numbered.