Ajimobi asked to account for recovered N500m loot

OLUSESAN LAOYE

Oyo state governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi has come under severe criticism over the N500m he allegedly recovered from the former governor of the state, Rashidi Ladoja through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The money was alleged to have been handed over to the EFCC by the former governor Ladoja.

Ajimobi is now being challenged by a Non-Governmental Organisation, tagged the Change Agent Movement which wanted the governor to make public how he expended the N500m recovered from an ex-governor of the state through the EFCC.

The Organisation explained that this is borne out of the fact that the projects the governor claimed to have spent the money on had been abandoned for over six months.

Chairman and Secretary of the grroup, Messrs Abolaji Adeosun and Malik Adehun respectively wondered why the model schools the governor claimed to have spent the money on was abandoned at the foundation level. Hence the demand for explanation from the APC government why the huge amount said to have been earmarked for the project has not been judiciously spent, because right now the project ought to have been completed with that amount.”

According to them “Prior to the 2015 elections, there were allegations and counter allegations between Ajimobi and Ladoja. The governor claimed that the state had recovered N500m loot from EFCC which the state government was using to construct six model schools.

“The model school projects started last year and it had since been abandoned at the foundation level. We wonder if it was rock that was used as the foundation for it to have cost the government N500m. After the foundation of the project which was given to a single contractor, nothing has been done so far.”

The group claimed that the contractor awarded the job had abandoned the site for months now and therefore “we challenge Governor Ajimobi to explain to the good people of the state how he spent the N500m. We are in a change era and our leaders must account for what they are doing.”

The group also blasts the governor for leaving the state for Dubai. “It will come as a surprise to some people that the governor left the shores of this country last Friday for Dubai, where he has been directing the affairs of the state. This is coming after the governor spent over 20 days outside the country last month and later claimed to have engaged three nameless cum invincible investors who he said had agreed to come to Oyo State.”

“We call on political, religious and community leaders especially the Ibadan elders to guide Governor Ajimobi with their advice and suggestions, so that the electorate will not regret the second term mandate given to him. The people are already lamenting allowing the governor to break the second term jinx, they said.

It was further argued that constant travelling of the governor has been affecting the state which has not witnessed any activities, since he came back for a second term in May this year. ”The lull in the state is affecting everybody. The first term governors have started working likewise many second term governors, but the situation is different in Oyo State as the governor is busy globetrotting in the name of looking for imaginary investors.

The group further accused Ajimobi of not being alive to his responsibilities saying that while all the governors owing their workers are busy finding immediate solution to the salary issue, Ajimobi has extended his, to end of October without considering the fact that the federal government wanted immediate solution to the financial predicament of the workers through the bailout funds.

“We therefore, call on the governor to immediately retrace his steps by doing the needful because time waits for no man. Oyo state people should not regret reposing their confidence in you for a second term.

The chairman of the APC in Oyo State, Chief Akin Oke has said that those castigating the government of the party don’t know what governance is all about. He said that despite the fact that the salary issue was not peculiar to Oyo State alone, Ajimobi is doing his best to ensure that this does not stop the dividend of democracy from getting to the masses who voted for the APC in the last governorship election.

He also cautioned that people should not misinterpret the trips of the governor outside the state as the governor would not travel out without reasons, saying that he has assured the people of the state that his trips were meant to develop the state.

It will be recalled that at the heat of the April governorship election, there were accusations and counter accusations between the candidate of the Accord Party, Senator Rashidi Ladoja and Governor Ajimobi over the alleged N500m said to have been paid back by Ladoja to the EFCC, which Ajimobi claimed he received.

But Ladoja denied paying such amount to the EFCC. He promised to take both the governor and his party, APC to court which he never did before the election and even now the election was over. The issue of the money has since been generating controversies as Ajimobi still insists that his administration collected the money which he is now being asked to account for.