According to a report by Daily Post on Friday, June 12, 2026, Babajide Fashola, former Lagos State governor and ex-Minister of Works, Power and Housing under former President Muhammadu Buhari, has stated that he did not receive security votes throughout his eight-year tenure as governor of Lagos State.
He made the clarification while addressing discussions surrounding how state funds are utilized for security purposes across Nigeria.
Fashola made the remarks on Friday during a panel session at a June 12 programme organised by The Platform Nigeria in commemoration of Nigeria’s Democracy Day.
The event brought together former public office holders and other stakeholders to reflect on governance issues and national development.
During the session, participants examined various aspects of public finance and accountability, particularly in relation to state-level security spending.
While responding to questions posed to him and other former governors, including former Senate President Bukola Saraki, Fashola was asked about the use and impact of security votes allocated to governors, especially in light of Nigeria’s rising security concerns.
The discussion centred on how such funds are managed and whether they have been effective in addressing security challenges across different states of the federation.
In his response, Fashola described the concept of security votes being directly handed to governors as questionable, stating that he found the idea unusual based on his personal experience in office.
He maintained that during his tenure as governor of Lagos State, he never received such funds in any form, contrasting his experience with common assumptions about how state security financing operates.
He further explained that the financial structure in Lagos State during his administration ensured that all funds belonging to the state were managed through formal government channels.
According to him, the resources accrued to Lagos State were channelled through the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning rather than being handed over directly to the governor for discretionary use.
Fashola emphasized that the notion of governors receiving direct security votes was unfamiliar to him, reinforcing his position that such a practice did not exist in his administration.
He added that the subject often comes up in discussions among former colleagues, but it does not align with how financial management was conducted in Lagos during his time in office.
He said: “This security vote thing, whenever I hear some of my colleagues talk about it, I don’t know what it means because I never had it in Lagos,” Fashola said.