- Contracts meant to stall our smooth take off – PDP
- Stop chasing shadows – APC
The governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi will complete his second term in May 29. Since his party the All Progressives Congress (APC) lost the March 9, gubernatorial election in the state he has awarded a number of projects running into billions of naira. Daily Trust on Sunday gathered. His successor, Engr Oluseyi Makinde of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has raised the alarm, alleging that the contracts were aimed at bequeathing an empty treasury to his incoming administration.
The candidate of the APC, Adebayo Adelabu lost the March 9 governorship election in Oyo state to the candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Engr Oluseyi Makinde with a wide margin of over 150,000 votes.
But as he prepares to take over the reins of power, the governor-elect has accused Ajimobi of making efforts to empty the state treasury to stall the smooth takeoff of the incoming administration.
Makinde alleged that the sum of N2, 475million has been hurriedly released for each of the 33 local governments while a similar amount was also released to the Oyo State Road Maintenance Agency, (OSTROMA) for the same purpose, totaling four billion, nine hundred and fifty million naira.
According to him there were documents that showed the list of roads which government has either released or was planning to release almost N40 billion, for which cannot take off before May 29 when the outgoing governor would be leaving the office.
According to the governor-elect, the money was taken from the Excess Crude oil Account and released through the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.
Another allegation by the governor-elect is what he termed ‘mischievous planned mass recruitment by the outgoing government to increase the financial load of the incoming administration and stunt its smooth take off.’
Makinde also alleged that he had information on how the governor directed local government councils to spend all monies in their care including Stabilization Accounts which are traditionally reserved for emergencies and natural disasters even when there were no cases of emergency anywhere in the state.
He also said he had discovered the plan of the outgoing administration to concession the Agodi Gardens and some landed property at Trans Amusement Park to government which he said will not materialise as it did not follow due process.
Engr. Makinde said he was well aware of the outgoing government’s plan to “mismanage another 610million dollars special intervention fund, of which Oyo state is a beneficiary.”
According to him, “the hasty contracts being awarded at SUBEB had also caught the eyes of the public.”
While Makinde warned Contractors not to risk their licenses, he assured members of the pubic that due diligence would be upheld and that relevant anti-corruption agencies have been duly informed.
But in a swift reaction the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) through its spokesman, Dr. Abdul-Azeez Olatunde urged Makinde to wait till May 28, when the tenure of the incumbent governor expires before he could start scrutinizing the finances of Oyo State. He also charged Makinde to prepare for governance and stop chasing shadows.
Describing the allegations as unfounded, malicious and mischievous against the incumbent, Olatunde urged Makinde to focus more on how to manage the state as from May 29, after the completion of the second term of incumbent Governor Abiola Ajimobi.
He said by now, Makinde was expected to be brainstorming on how to further raise the bar of governance and deliver on his electoral promises.
“By now, the governor-elect should be brainstorming on how to further raise the bar of governance, instead of raising unfounded, malicious and mischievous allegations against the incumbent like the allegation that the incumbent is emptying the state treasury released by his spokesperson, Dotun Oyelade,” the statement read in part.
The party said that Ajimobi’s mandate as governor would lapse on May 28, and he still has responsibilities to perform till his tenure lapses.
It urged Makinde to wait for his turn to govern the state, at which time; he would be at liberty to scrutinize the finances of the state.
Similarly, the party said it would have ignored the comments of Makinde’s spokesperson but for the sake of the general public who could be misled. It said that opposition should be based on facts and issues, and not “mudslinging and character assassination.”
“The vituperation credited to Makinde clearly shows that the incoming team lacks a good grasp of core governance issues, especially a simple one as the commencement and expiration of an administration,” it said.
While advising the incoming governor to devote more time to focusing on learning the art of governance, the APC said: “We are surprised that the governor-elect did not deem it fit to visit the Sogoye area of Ibadan, the venue of the building that collapsed last Friday.
“If such an incident had occurred before the elections, he would have been one of the early callers to the site. This is a demonstration of the true nature of the party and its candidate,” the statement by the APC said.
A political analyst, Dr. Sunday Agboluwaje described the allegations as typical of Nigerian politicians, but cautioned Ajimobi on his recent approvals and inauguration of projects.
“Though, it is expected of the incoming governor to make allegations because politicians have their ways of doing things but it will also be reasonable if the outgoing governor can consider the health of the state economy before leaving the office, “ he said.
