The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and People’s Democratic Party, PDP has traded words over the implementation committee of the contracts under The Former Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola.
Insight Media reported on Thursday that Governor Ademola Adeleke set up of an eight-man implementation panel on the White Paper on Contract Review Committee of the contracts awarded during the administration of the immediate-past Governor Gboyega Oyetola now Minister of Marine and Blue Economy.
According to the Osun State APC chairman, Sooko Tajudeen Lawal, in a statement issued by the party’s Director of Media and Information, Chief Kola Olabisi, described the setting up of the implementation committee of the contract review during the tenure of his predecessor by Adeleke as a ploy to cover up the frauds of his 16-month-old administration which were uncovered by the APC on Wednesday.
Lawal queried how Adeleke administration that has been awarding road contracts at the unprecedented cost of N2.5 billion per kilometre which is considered too bogus for riverine areas would now be talking of a qualification to probe a known prudent administration of Oyetola?
The state APC chairman wondered how a government that has been awarding non-functional boreholes across the state at an alarming rate of N14 million each would settle to probe his predecessor who did same at less than N2 million each?
Lawal disclosed that it was funny that an administration that awarded road/flyover contract to the serving deputy speaker of the state House of Assembly without following the due process would now suddenly consider the setting up of an implementation panel of the White Paper on the Contract Review Committee?
The state APC chairman also wondered that why was it a day after his party accused Governor Adeleke of awarding state road/flyover contracts to his brother and nephew that he(Adeleke) suddenly considered it expedient to set up an implementation committee?
Lawal told Governor Adeleke to thread softly as Osun people are now wiser and knowledgeable enough to read the true motive of his action meant to unjustifiably victimize the opposition for having the effrontery to catalogue the series of frauds his government is perpetrating against the state in the name of prosecution of legacy projects.
He also stated that Governor Adeleke and his co-travellers are worried and bothered by the spates of the defection of the PDP members into the APC within the last three weeks which is still counting.
The state APC chairman who stated that the Adeleke planned probe of his predecessor is diversionary added that the governor would fail in his plan to unjustifiably get at the minister whose political fortune is rising on daily basis.
Reacting to the state’s APC comments on the implementation committee on the White Paper, the State Chairman of the PDP said “the APC is jittery that its four years of plundering Osun state between 2018 to 2022 is about to be exposed for criminal prosecution.
“Affirming that the PDP government is not embarking on any fresh probe, the party chairman submitted that Governor Adeleke is only giving effect to the outcome of the Executive Order he issued when he assumed office in 2022.
“The contract review committee conducted an extensive investigation on contracts awarded from 2018 to 2022. It sat between late 2022 to 2023 with many top officials of the Oyetola administration appearing before it. The huge report of the committee was followed with a White Paper recommendations for which the Governor has now set up a committee for implementation.
“The implementation panel is the final stage of a process that started in 2022. The day of reckoning is here, hence the trepidation within the State APC. When Oyetola officials appeared before the review committee, a lot of fraudulent irregularities, serious breach of procurement laws, diversion of billions of naira, non-execution of fully paid contracts and barefaced theft of state assets were discovered and documented.
“The government has a responsibility to bring to book culprits within the legal framework. The state government is obliged to ensure the implementation of the white paper irrespective of failed blackmail by perpetrators of yesterday’s corruption. The state needs no permission of corrupted agents of yesteryears as to when and how the law should take its course.
“If the Oyetola regime was that saintly, how come its officials during testimonies before the review committee practically collapsed when confronted with evidence of their misdeeds? How come the Osun APC itself is crying wolf when its antii-people records are about to be shown to the whole world?
“The state government is in full compliance with the procurement laws as all allegations from the opposition are meant to derail the state government from implementing the multi-billion naira infrastructure plan. The execution of projects are ongoing and they will be delivered before the mid-term of this administration.
“We also strongly submit that no member of the Adeleke family is involved in any state contract as we firmly refute allegations against Dr Deji Adeleke and Mr David Adeleke. The family is only supporting and rightly so, one of their own to deliver on good governance in Osun state”, he stated.
While the party called on relevant state agencies to give effect to extant laws on spreading of fake news, it declared that freedom of speech is not equal to maligning, seditious, libelous and character assasination through fake news.
The party commended Governor Adeleke for demonstrating statesmanship by his resolve to implement the white paper on the Contract review committee, urging Committee members to deploy the law to bring culprits to book.
