As controversies rage over the N50billion allegedly received by Governor Seyi Makinde from the Federal Government to cushion the effects of the January 2024 explosion which ravaged parts of Bodija Estates in Ibadan, the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has hinted that more startling revelations about cases of fund mismanagement and other shady deals by the PDP government were underway.
Reactions have trailed the revelation made by former governor of Ekiti state, Mr Ayodele Fayose, about a sum of N50billion which he claimed was released to Gov. Makinde by the federal government while the state government came up with a number of official statements and media interviews to present its case even as many analysts and political pundits faulted the governor over his failure to disclose the details of the intervention by Abuja until now.
In a statement issued at the weekend and made available to journalists in Ibadan by its Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, Oyo APC regretted that “Gov. Makinde lives in a glass house from where he throws stone to the neighborhood while he constantly seeks to demonize the government at the centre as a result of his penchant for self aggrandizement and dirty politicking.
“There is no denying the fact that the N50billion Ibadan Explosion Relief Fund saga has cleared all the doubts about the current PDP government in Oyo being a cesspool of corruption and one which thrives on false narratives and propaganda. It is an obvious case of fund mismanagement and insensitivity to the plight of the people as it affected the victims of the explosion and their community.
“Another sad dimension is the attempt by Gov. Makinde to demonize the Tinubu administration rather than appreciate the President for responding to the emergency by providing a whooping sum of money for the purpose of ameliorating the pains of the victims of the disaster. It is on record that Gov. Makinde blackmailed late former President Muhammadu Buhari over a consignment of rice brought to the state in 2020 as parts of the palliatives to cushion the effects of COVID-19 epidemic. The governor personally called out the then President when he claimed some of the bags of rice were contaminated.
“In this current dispensation, Gov. Makinde has never deemed it necessary to acknowledge the efforts of Tinubu administration as being felt in stupendous monthly allocations to the state and 33 local government councils, donations of CNG buses, cars and tricycles as well as periodic provision of various sums of money for the state government to distribute to different population of residents in palliatives. So far, the best response from Gov. Makinde was his open condemnation of the decision of the federal government to remove subsidy on imported petroleum products while the same governor has been the loudest voice against the implementation of the Supreme Court judgement which granted full financial autonomy to local government councils.
“As if these were not enough, Gov. Makinde seized some landed properties belonging to the federal government and sold off the same without any caution even as he does not hide his disdain for key institutions such as the Judiciary. We recall that he instituted a court against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2019 when the anti graft agency wanted to weigh in on the Exercise Book contract award scandal. The case is still pending while it could be the reason for him (Makinde) to enjoy temporary relief despite the fact his government stinks of corruption and wastefulness.
“However, we have it on good authority that some allies of Gov. Makinde are now being troubled by their own conscience as they can no longer conceal the dirty secrets of the PDP government in the state. They have already started talking to the appropriate authorities and by the time some of their revelations are made public, Gov. Makinde and his co-travellers would have no where to hide again.” APC said.
