The Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has alleged that more startling revelations on alleged corruption and fund mismanagement under the administration of Governor Seyi Makinde are imminent.
The opposition party spoke amid the controversy surrounding the alleged N50bn said to have been released to the state by the Federal Government to cushion the effects of the January 2024 explosion that ravaged parts of Bodija Estate, Ibadan.
The allegation followed claims by a former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, that the Federal Government released N50bn to Makinde as intervention funds after the explosion.
While the state government has issued official statements and granted media interviews to explain its position, analysts and political observers have faulted the governor for what they described as a failure to promptly disclose details of the alleged intervention.
In a statement issued at the weekend and made available to journalists in Ibadan, the APC, through its Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, accused the Makinde-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government of insensitivity and lack of transparency.
The party said, “Governor Makinde lives in a glass house from where he throws stones at the neighbourhood while constantly seeking to demonise the government at the centre as a result of his penchant for self-aggrandisement and dirty politicking.
“There is no denying the fact that the N50bn Ibadan explosion relief fund saga has cleared all doubts about the current PDP government in Oyo State being a cesspool of corruption that thrives on false narratives and propaganda. This is a clear case of fund mismanagement and insensitivity to the plight of the victims of the explosion and their community.”
The APC also accused the governor of attempting to cast the Federal Government in a bad light instead of appreciating President Bola Tinubu for responding to the emergency.
“Another sad dimension is the attempt by Governor Makinde to demonise the Tinubu administration rather than appreciate the President for responding to the emergency by providing a whopping sum of money to ameliorate the pains of the victims,” the statement read.
The party recalled that Makinde had, in 2020, accused the administration of the late President Muhammadu Buhari of distributing contaminated rice as COVID-19 palliatives in the state.
According to the APC, the governor has also failed to acknowledge what it described as benefits accruing to the state from the Tinubu administration, including increased monthly allocations, donations of CNG buses, vehicles, and tricycles, as well as periodic palliatives.
“So far, the best response from Governor Makinde has been his open condemnation of the removal of fuel subsidy, while he has also been the loudest voice against the implementation of the Supreme Court judgment granting full financial autonomy to local government councils,” the party alleged.
The APC further accused the governor of selling landed properties belonging to the Federal Government and showing “disdain” for key institutions such as the judiciary.
It also recalled a legal action instituted by Makinde against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in 2019 over the controversial exercise book contract, noting that the case was still pending.
However, the party claimed that some allies of the governor were now willing to expose alleged improprieties within the administration.
“We have it on good authority that some allies of Governor Makinde are now being troubled by their conscience and can no longer conceal the dirty secrets of the PDP government in the state.
“They have started talking to the appropriate authorities, and by the time their revelations are made public, Governor Makinde and his co-travellers will have nowhere to hide,” the APC added.
