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Oyo: Seyi Makinde exposes Ajimobi…how he awarded dubious contracts and padded the state budget

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In a daring move that political analysts and watchers say may further escalate the silent feud between the duo, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has painted a picture of the alleged corrupt practices that characterised the administration of his predecessor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi of the All Progressive Congress, APC, when the latter held sway as the governor of the state,City News reports.

Governor Makinde alleged that the era of Ajimobi as the chief executive of Oyo State was characterised by corruption, budget padding, mismanagement of funds, kickback syndrome, inflation of contracts’ fees, lop-sidedness in projects management, award of contracts only to their cronies and re-awarding of projects at double price, among others.  

He made this sttement on a live programme of the Oyo State Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State tagged ‘Live chat with GSM, a quarterly session with the Oyo State Governor’.  He said;

“If I should talk about the finances of Oyo State as at the time we came on board, some people will not be able to walk on the streets. Up till date, we have not bought vehicles for the office holders. If we are to buy official vehicles for myself and other office holders, we will not spend less than N3 billion and we cannot afford that now. Up till today, I am still using my personal cars in office.  

“Our priority is to the people. We prioritise what we can do to the people who gave the opportunity to serve them over ourselves. We don’t want to serve ourselves. On May 6, 2019, three weeks to take over, the last administration withdrew N5.2 billion and spent it to remain N19, 000 by May 29. Soon, those involve will have to explain how they spent the money on the people.  

“When I resumed, I was scared. The government was running 67 banks accounts. So I asked for all the balances of the accounts. A particular account has N300 million, and another has N20 million. I asked the accountant general to prune the accounts down and put all the money in one account and which came to about N6 billion.”

“When we assumed office, some people came to me and said that this is how they shared money. I said don’t share the money to me. Let us use it to better the lives of the people of the state. IGR has gone up a bit because we have blocked loopholes. Let me also reveal this. We did not spend government money on those Christmas decorations that you see everywhere. Normally, at the end of the year, people and corporate organisations give gifts to the governor.  

“So, when they came, I called my people and told them that these gifts should be channelled towards beautifying the state instead. So, we used the gifts to do those Christmas decorations that you are seeing. If we continue to be prudent, all will be well and things will go round. It is because we cut off the wastage, that is why we are able to do some of the things are doing”.



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Just In: APC Picks Dennis Idahosa As Running Mate For Edo Governorship Election

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) has settled for Hon. Dennis Idahosa as its deputy governorship candidate in the September 21 Edo Governorship election.

Idahosa was unveiled at a meeting on Sunday night attended by the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, former Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, Okpebholo himself and a few other party chieftains.

JomogNews recalls Idahosa was one of the aspirants who contested the APC ticket for Edo governorship election during the party primaries but lost the ticket as the Okpebholo eventually emerged as the party’s flag bearer for the November 21, 2024 election.

With his emergence as the deputy governorship candidate, it is expected that Idahosa would withdraw his law suit against the party regarding the outcome of the Edo primary elections.

APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and National Secretary, Sen. Ajibola Bashiru are to present Senator Monday Okpebholo, the party’s flag bearer and his running mate to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Villa today (Monday).

Idahosa is to replace Hon. Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, who was announced by the governorship candidate last week as his running mate.

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Hardship: Pastor Tunde Bakare Reveals What Is Crippling Nigeria’s Economy

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The Citadel Global Community Church’s Serving Overseer, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has said some Nigerians are being forced to rob warehouses in order to avoid going to bed hungry due to the country’s economic hardships.

 

In his keynote speech on Friday at the 70th birthday celebration of Pastor Chinedu Ezekwesili, the husband of the former minister of education, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, Bakare blamed corruption and poor governance for the current state of the economy.

 

In the past two weeks, there have been numerous complaints of some Nigerians breaking into warehouses and taking food and other valuables.

This online medium reports that the preacher cautioned that no single institution can eradicate corruption from a nation, adding that Nigerians should not expect the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-graft institutions to act in isolation.

Bakare said, “Somewhere in the equation, something has to be done, whether in the homes that produce the fabrics or even in the institution of states that have failed to liquidate this criminal enterprise and facilitate alternative pathways for young people; somewhere in the societal equation where corruption and bad governance are crippling the economy, leaving no fewer than 133 million Nigerians in multidimensional poverty and 26.5 million in acute hunger across the country.

“With families going to bed hungry, a citizen is forced to take to the streets and to loot warehouses in their quest for survival. It means somebody has failed in his duty. In other words, somewhere in the governance equation is where we have the real issue. The good news however is that man has the capacity to reverse the situations. With the help of his Creator, man is himself a creator with the ability to recreate his world.

 

 

“This is a mission and purpose of every man. No citizen deserves to sleep under the bridge in a nation that has government. Until the righteous people are appointed into office, we are wasting time. There is only one antidote to fight corruption. EFCC and ICPC cannot fight it alone. Anybody that sits on the committee to investigate corruption who is corrupt himself can’t fight corruption in Nigeria.”

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Breaking: Port Harcourt refinery begins production of refined PMS in two weeks — Kyari

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Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mr. Mele Kyari has assured Nigerians that the Port Harcourt refinery will begin to deliver refined petroleum products in two weeks. 

 

Addressing Journalists after meeting with the Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, APC, Anambra-South led Senate Ad-hoc Committee on Turnaround Maintenance of the country’s four refineries on Thursday, March 14, Kyari also disclosed that the Warri refinery is almost ready too. He added that the refinery in Kaduna would be completed and ready to go into production in December this year.

 

 

He said;

 

“The Completion mechanical means that you are done with your rehabilitation work, now you are to test if this completion is okay. As for Warri refinery, we have also completed the mechanical works on it and it is undergoing the regulatory compliance processes that we are doing with our regulator.

“This also will be completed and it will be ready. “Kaduna will be ready by December, We have not reached that stage (of Port Harcourt and Warri) with Kaduna.”

 

 

Kyari also said there are no challenges with the pipelines to deliver crude to the refineries as the existing lines are fully pressurised to deliver crude.

 

He said;

 

“All crude lines are active and have actually delivered over 450,000 barrels into Port Harcourt refinery. We are confident of the integrity of it. Yes, there may be security issues, but also the government is responding to the situation.”

 

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