The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo State, has criticised the Chairman of Nigerian Communications Commission(NCC), Professor Adeolu Akande, over his comments on the construction of N8 billion independent power project embarked upon by the state government.
Governor Seyi Makinde had last Saturday flagged off the project, saying it will provide uninterrupted power supply to both the Government House, State Secretariat and environs, as well as power the Lekan Salami sports complex, Adamasingba.
Akande had in a statement on Sunday said “Makinde’s administration seems to have lost sight of the primary problem facing the state in its choice of awarding contracts at gargantuan cost,” adding that the Oyo State Government is commiting the present and future generations to debt that will not enhance economy of the state nor improve the well-being of the people.
Reacting, Oyo PDP in a statement made by Publicity Secretary, Akeem Olatunji, condemned Akande, saying Government House is the administrative seat of power which must run on 24 hours uninterrupted power supply.
He described Akande’s criticism as “maliciously false and deliberately misleading with the sole aim of gaining fictitious political relevance.”
According to the statement, Makinde has provided the best welfare that has improved the standard of living and quality of life of the people, stressing that an ineffective government secretariat on account of epileptic power supply occasioned by failure of the Federal Government to fulfill its promise of providing regular power supply will have even worse effects on the economy and indirectly the people’s well-being.
The ruling party noted that the Oyo State Government House and State Secretariat, do not belong to ‘Seyi Makinde but Oyo State.
The party slammed Akande for turning blind eye to what it described as “unspeakable hardship the Federal Government has brought upon Nigerians through countless white elephant projects including rail contruction to Niger Republic at worst gargantuan cost as well as unaccounted external borrowings that has taken Nigeria’s debt profile from about N12.06 trillion in 2015 to about N35.5 trillion within only six years.”
“It is very appalling and totally unacceptable for Akande to, in his desperate move, curry public attention in the political scheme of Oyo State, utter reckless and misleading statements that are not backed by facts and figures.
“A situation where a supposed researcher becomes one of the problems the state government must tend to, is an egregious distraction Governor Makinde can do without.
“It is very sad and disheartening for a man many would, by reason of his academic title as a Professor, to make manifestly reckless statements not backed by facts and figures.
“It has become common place for the sinking APC leaders to try to seek cheap political relevance by always launching deceitful attacks and outright falsehood which is their trademarks to curry public attention.
“If Akande or any of the APC leaders in Oyo State had any shame, should they not be begging for forgiveness from the people of Oyo State? Should they not go about meekly wearing sackcloth on account of the mindless pilfering which caused our senior citizens to lose pensions and gratuities?
“The Government of Oyo State under the leadership of the best Governor in Nigeria by public ratings and facts is engineering the state with science and logic and since the people who gave Governor Makinde their mandate remain happy with him, we do not welcome any uncharitable comments from a complete novice in any elective office in Nigeria to utter reckless and unguarded comments, all in the name of seeking public attention for political reasons.
“It is noteworthy to state emphatically for the purpose of record that once completed the power plant will also continue to be the property of Oyo State for the benefit of successive governments. If Professor Akande has any modicum of shame, he would keep quiet or rather channel his negataive energy towards the present Federal Government which he serves but whose economic policies have taken a bag of cement from less than two thousand naira in 2015 to almost five thousand naira in 2021.
“Professor Akande should do us a lot of good by telling us why inflation rate now stands firmly at two digits while naira to dollar exchange rate continues to spike making the cost of absolutely everything to rise beyond the reach of the common man. Akande should tell us why he lost his voice when the last APC government in Oyo State was constructing 1km of road across the state at almost a flat rate of 1 billion naira per kilometer.
“The people of Oyo State know better now because we in PDP have realized that testing the APC with power between 2011–2019 has clearly shown everyone the truth that APC is best off the stage before some would have said APC could have done better if they hadn’t been given the chance. The truth of the matter is that Akande should consult with the Ministry of Public Works if he requires more understanding of how Makinde is magically turning things around positively without struggles.
“We will not dignify him further by reeling out details of the power plant project which has been commended by players in both private and public sectors. He should go and find out for himself before he comes out again to publicly make mockery of himself with frivolous statements not backed by any proof or evidence. Akande should go and make himself relevant in his APC before joining issues with us; for now, he is still a political toddler surviving on Buhari’s feeding bottle.
“Finally, we implore Akande and his fellow pseudo-leaders in APC to stop dancing naked in the market because an ordinary party primary by their party produced a plethora of Chairmen, thereby making mockery of the process. Akande and co should go and remove the log in their eyes before pointing at the spec they claim to see in someone else’s. In any case, since APC leaders like Akande are blinded by pettiness and deceit on account of a failed primary, what good should anyone expect from them?” the statement read.
