The APC in Oyo state has called on Governor Seyi Makinde to stop giving out contracts at purportedly higher costs and instead focus on offering relief to the affected citizens who are directly impacted by the deteriorating economic conditions in the nation.
Oyo APC reportedly responded to the announcement made on Wednesday by the state government regarding the approval of N3.35 billion for acquiring Kia Rio cars as security vehicles and an additional N3.19 billion for street light maintenance in the state, according to a statement released on Thursday.
The statement, issued in Ibadan by the Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, suggested that the rampant inflation and poverty in the nation are attributed to imprudent spending, misplaced priorities, and inadequate planning by those in leadership roles, as evident in Oyo state’s situation since 2019.
However, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Sulaiman Olarenwaju, dismissed the APC’s accusation as unfounded. He said “it is sad and appalling that the gesture of Oyo State Government to improve security is being misconstrued by those who choose to politicise everything.”
A statement issued by Olawale Sadare, the Publicity Secretary of Oyo APC, emphasized that the APC, as active participants in the state’s matters, will not stand idly by while the PDP administration continues to deplete the limited resources of the state.
“It has come to a point that we, as stakeholders in the affairs of the Pacesetters state, cannot continue to watch as the present PDP administration would not cease from plundering scarce resources. We querried the wisdom behind spending of billions of naira on the purchase of Kia Rio brand of luxury cars as security vehicles about years ago and we got vindicated as only a few numbers of those cars are seen around today.
“The state government is now repeating the same sleaze with the Wednesday approval of N3.35b on another 105 units of the same fragile vehicle brand for security. Apart from the fact that such brand is not ideal for use as patrol vehicles by security agents, the price of each car is put at N32 million and this is unacceptable.
“Also, on the issue of N3.19 billion approved for the maintenance of street light project which cost over N28 billion to be executed without accountability, we vehemently kick against it as there is no justification for spending such a stupendous amount on replacement of poles. We cannot continue like this.” Oyo APC stated.
The party further asserted that instead of enabling a select few individuals close to the centers of authority to misappropriate scarce resources, Governor Makinde should take inspiration from certain governors who have recently taken significant steps to tackle the issues facing their own states.
“Rather than create an avenue for a few privileged persons around the corridor of power to siphon scarce resources, Gov. Makinde should emulate some governors who have done so much in recent times to address the challenges in their respective states. He should also address the plight of workers and pensioners in the state who came out few days ago to lament high-handedness, deprivation and deceit from the PDP administration since 2019.
“We are also using this opportunity to raise the alarm on the persistent downward slide which has been the case of education in Oyo state. Few days ago, the results posted by virtually all the students of public schools in the state who participated in the last West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) left much to be desired. It was F9 parallel everywhere and this is as a result of the rot brought into the system by Gov. Makinde. In fact, we cannot continue like this.” Sadare stated.