I ‘ve Never Been Invited by EFCC, ICPC for Corruption, Says Oni
Chief Segun Oni, a former governor of Ekiti State
Victor Ogunje
As the campaign for election into the Ekiti State number one seat formally kicked off last Sunday, a former state governor and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship candidate, Segun Oni, has said he will secure the resources and prevent corrupt individuals from embezzling the public till.
Oni, represented by a United States of America-trained Sociologist and Public Procurement expert, Dr Bayo Arowolaju, said this in Ifaki Ekiti, yesterday during an interface with a group named Ekiti Build Back Better, led by its spokesperson, Idowu Adelusi.
The former governor said the fact that he and his appointees had never been invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for alleged corruption substantiated his transparent approach to governance.
Oni said while in office, he ran a transparent government, managed the state’s resources well to develop the state and that he left no debt for his successor.
“Neither the former governor nor any member of his cabinet was ever invited for questioning by either the EFCC or the ICPC. There wasn’t also any record of other investigating agencies inviting any appointee that worked under him for questioning.This was due to the proper implementation of the processes and procedures of public procurement mechanisms and the determination of Oni to judiciously deploy the meagre resources of the state to grow it economically, socially and politically,” he said.
Arowolaju noted that Oni didn’t borrow a dime from any financial institution or individual throughout his tenure as Ekiti State governor, adding that he left over N10 billion in government’s coffers, plus two months federal allocations and security votes.
“All these were left for the Kayode Fayemi-led administration “that used the judiciary to remove Oni from office.”
He added further: “All procurements were vetted and scrutinised to ensure that they met all the due process of laws before the certificate of award signed by me was issued to the awarding MDAs, as my office did not award contracts.”
He also described Oni as “a honest, transparent and incorruptible gentleman with high level integrity and with his life centered on improving Ekiti State and making the lives of the people better,” saying that Ekiti would have been better off economically, socially and politically, if his administration had not been removed.
Arowolaju said during the time of Oni, the local governments in Ekiti got their revenue allocations as sent from Abuja without the state government tampering with them, “which is what local government autonomy is chiefly about.
