Lagos N8bn Sunborn Yacht deal, bad business — APC
The All Progressives Congress, Lagos State Chapter, has said the Lagos State Government has quit the Sunborn Yacht Hotel. The party said it was a bad business and the government had abandoned the deal.
The controversial yacht, valued at about N8bn, is an inshore boat hotel.
The state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party had recently accused the state government of corruption. It challenged the state Governor, Babatunde Fashola, to speak out on the whereabouts of the yacht and the two helicopters bought by his administration for security surveillance of the state.
The state Chairman, PDP, Mr. Tunji Shelle, while addressing party faithful during the General Assembly of the chapter, had said, “After floating miserably on the Marina water for so long, the controversial Sunburn Yacht, which cost the Lagos State Government, under (former Governor) Bola Tinubu, a whooping N8bn suddenly disappeared, only to be sighted at Thames in England.
“Now, the question is: who orchestrated this 419 and who were the beneficiaries of this waste of public fund. This is certainly a fraud and (Governor Babatunde) Fashola must tell us something he knows about this fraud, failure which he remains an accessory after the fact in the fraud.”
While reacting in an online interview with our correspondent on Saturday, the state Interim Publicity Secretary, Mr. Joe Igbokwe, said the state government took a bad business decision on the yacht and had done away with it.
He said, “Every successful investor or businessman will tell you that business is not a bed of roses. He knows business is not all about gains all the time; you gain in some and lose in some. It is the same with governments all over the world. No government anywhere in the world will tell you that it has achieved 100 per cent success in every decision it has taken.
“The world will forgive you for taking decisions and making all the mistakes but the world will not forgive you if you do not take decisions at all for fear of failure. LASG has done away with the bad business called the Sunborn Yacht project. Case rested.”
Igbokwe described the PDP's allegation that the helicopters had been deployed in the Niger Delta for private business purposes as idle talk. He said the party derived joy in telling, seeing, hearing and thinking lies.
“APC Lagos cannot continue to dissipate energy and precious gift of time, providing answers when there are no questions at all. Idle hands are devil's workshop. PDP Lagos has been idle for close to 16 years and you can understand why the centre cannot hold for them.”
He, however, did not speak, specifically, on the state of the helicopters.
The PDP had also called on Fashola and the APC to protect their integrity by allowing the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, to step aside pending his trial by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for alleged misappropriation of funds.
Igbokwe, however, said Lagos had been at the forefront in accusing the PDP-led Federal Government of brazen corruption, mismanagement and mediocrity. He said the state had rather showed the way for leadership in Nigeria.
He said, “It seems to me that they have been trying to hit back at Lagos and there is no other crooked and dishonest way to do that than to target the Speaker. I am worried that this is a calculated attempt to tarnish the image of Lagos State Government and these politics are well understood.”
PUNCH.