AN OPEN LETTER TO SEN. AJIBOLA BASIRU, REPRESENTING OSUN CENTRAL SENATORIAL DISTRICT
Dear Sen. Ajibola Basiru,
We appreciate your decision to reply to our letter dated 22nd February, 2021 in which we requested details of your Zonal Intervention Projects for the year ended 2020.
Your response to our enquiry, dated 4th March, 2021 and signed by your Senior Legislative Aide, one ‘Bisi Babalola, has prompted us to respond to you publicly, while making clear to the public, especially your constituents, that the Senator representing Osun Central Senatorial District considers himself too big to be held accountable.
We take particular note of your arrogant offer of education on the workings of the Zonal Intervention Projects and we are willing to extend to you, the first hand of education, that you may stop being an obnoxious misfit and an embarrassment to the Distinguished Office of a Senator of the Federal Republic.
You may want to note the following:
TAG is aware, that it is the responsibility of every Lawmaker, Representative or Senator, to nominate projects that they consider to be important to the development of their constituencies. These nominated projects are consequently inserted in annual appropriation acts.
TAG is also aware, that Lawmakers while nominating projects, also nominate the MDAs under which they want the projects placed. We know your office is not an exception.
TAG is also aware, that in the year ended 2020, you nominated two projects – “Capacity Building for Cooperators, ICT, Entrepreneurship, Management, Cooperate Law, Values and Studies in Osun Central Senatorial District” at a cost of Fifty Million Naira Only (50,000,000) and “Supply and Distribution of Empowerment tools for Trained Cooperators in Osun Central Senatorial District” at a cost of One Hundred and Sixty-Three Million Naira (163,000,000).
We are aware from information available in the 2020 Appropriation Act, that both projects were placed for execution under the Federal Cooperative College, Ibadan. Nominations of both the projects and the executing institution were done by you and NOBODY else.
TAG wrote you, requesting details of execution of these projects because aside nominating the projects and the institution to execute, you are by way of responsibility to your constituents, supposed to monitor the implementation of such projects. That is aside the understanding that we have, that you were in fact, involved in the process of execution.
In your remark at the Empowerment Programme you hosted on 20th December, 2020, you stated that “the empowerment programme which started with a three-day intensive capacity building training of 100 Co-Operators in August under the Zonal Intervention Programme (ZIP) and my personal contribution, was geared towards fulfilling my electoral promise of putting the people first.” You publicly admitted knowledge of the execution of Zonal Intervention Projects nominated by you, but you refuse, albeit with so much arrogance, to respond to a letter of request for same.
Our request for details of your project execution was in good faith and in the pursuit of accountability. We have however discovered from your response, that you have considered yourself too big, too distinguished and too important to be queried. We cringe to imagine how you then treat your constituents if you do not mind responding to us in the manner that you did.
TAG is made up of professional in several fields of human endeavor – Lawyers, Journalists, Academics, Civil Society Activists and other Opinion leaders. You are by no means superior to any member of our group, whether by virtue of your present office which expires in two years, or by virtue of your academic records that you have been found to often pompously mouth about. You are as single a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as every single member of TAG.
We must also make specific reference to the last paragraph of your response wherein you stated that “please be guided that we will no longer entertain any further frivolous request from your group.” We concluded in our deliberations, that whoever inserted this line, be it yourself or your cronies, must have a pitiably deficient understanding of English Language and by extension, the meaning of the word “frivolous”. A request for details of your stewardship as a Senator, living off public funds, is neither frivolous nor remotely unusual. We however note that egocentric misfits like yourself in public office, only thrive in an environment where they are not questioned. Mr. Senator, this is not a monarchical democracy, your stewardship will continue to be queried and you will do well to respect yourself and your office enough to respond.
TAG assures you of absolute respect to your office as a Senator, but will not fail to dress you down, where you are found responding in manners unbecoming of a Senator of the Federal Republic. We also bring to your notice in as clear terms as possible, that we will continue to demand accountability and transparency from you; in the immediate, speaking of the ZIPs worth over Four Hundred Million (400,000,000) that we have again traced to you in the 2021 Appropriation Act. Your constituents will then be allowed to judge if an unquestionable despot is the best representation they should be getting.
In conclusion, it is not TAG that should be seeking education on the workings of ZIPs, but you who should be taking home lessons in public decorum and normal behaviour for public office holder; your arrogance has become one too many.
Receive the assurances of our warm regards, Distinguished Senator.
Com. Ayo Ologun
Spokesperson, TAG
