The All Progressives Congress, (APC) Oyo State has described the interview by Gov. Seyi Makinde on Saturday to mark his one-month in office as a further reflection of his unpreparedness for the exalted office of governor. His statements during the interview further reflect his low or practically non-existent grasp of governance.
According to the Chairman of APC, Chief Akin Oke, the governor made certain statements totally unexpected of his office, which reflects his ignorance of governance matters. “Specifically, Gov Makinde said he met a debt of N150b when he assumed duty. In the same breath, he said monthly allocation from the federal government was N4.5b while salary was N5.5b leaving a shortfall of N1b. The internally Generated Revenue IGR was about N2b, now considering the developmental strides of Senator Abiola Ajimobi which was not in doubt, where did he think the money for all these was coming from? It is important for the governor to be educated on financial matters and governance issues before he comes out to make statement as if he was still in opposition and was on campaign trail.”
The party chair who spoke through the Publicity Secretary , Dr Olatunde Azeez noted that Oyo State was run on a prudent financial basis during the tenure of Senator Ajimobi who brought his Corporate practice experience to bear in managing the state. “ A critical look at the debt profile of Oyo State when compared to other States will reflect the prudence in the financial management of Oyo State. Considering the size of Oyo State, we can categorically say that Oyo State did not feature in the list of 10 highly indebted States in Nigeria. A report in 2018 gave the debt profile of States and for any one that cares to know, the information is just a click away. If Gov. Makinde is now saying he met a debt profile of N150b, we know that he was being economical with the truth. In any case, governance is a continuum, he can not expect to inherit assets and not the liabilities.
“ The Governor stretched the truth a bit far by stating that a kilometre of road was done at N2b by the Ajimobi administration. The only people who would believe this barefaced lies are illiterates and undiscerning minds. Does he not know that a proposal to spend such an amount of money on a kilometre of road would instantly raise a red flag in the State Executive Council where such approvals are given and could be a cause of anti- corruption probe? Who then would grant such approval? He should tell a different story. In any case, the Contractor is there and everything that was done is a matter of public records. He is free to take on the contractor or is he afraid of ruffling the feathers of his party having recognised that the contractor has affiliation with his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)?
The party also expressed surprise at the Governor’s double speak on the issue of the local government. “ Having said that he would wait for the court’s decision on the matter, he said he would conduct election into the local government areas by the first quarter of 2020 and would restructure the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission ( OYSIEC) by appointing people of integrity into the commission. Obviously, the governor is privy to the court’s decision on the matter for him to make that categorical statement. He should however be informed that OYSIEC commissioners have five- year mandate, they still have two more years to go. He should not push the state into unnecessary litigation or further heat up the polity in the State”.
Oke wondered how Gov Makinde would come with a statement that he would ‘expose Senator Ajimobi’ if he continued to disturb his administration. “In what way is Ajimobi disturbing his administration? He seems to have forgotten that he is the governor of the state, he should take pride in command. We however expect him to come out with any thing he has. He should not hide under any guise”.
The party advised the governor to take a cue from his predecessor who unveiled his restoration, transformation and repositioning agenda on assumption of office and pursued it vigorously leading to accolades on his unprecedented achievements. “We expect Gov Makinde to come up with his developmental blueprint instead of the piecemeal serving of his programmes. His first month in office should have been devoted to unveiling his blueprint, rather he was focussed on irrelevancies that would not advance the course of the state.”
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