Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan
The Oyo State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), wednesday came hard on the House of Assembly for the express approval it gave to Governor Seyi Makinde, to draw a fresh N20 billion “infrastructure loan” from a commercial bank.
The APC described the development as a sour grape in the mouth of the people
The state government on Tuesday said it had gotten the nod of the House of Assembly to obtain another loan of N20 billion from a commercial bank in the country that would be spent on infrastructure.
But the APC in a statement made available to journalists in Ibadan yesterday by the Oyo State Assistant Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr. Ayobami Adejumo, described the development as a clear manifestation of the PDP administration’s resolve to subject the state to bankruptcy and thus bring it down to its knees in no time while the governor and a few people within the corridor of power must have succeeded in enriching themselves and some private institutions where they have interest.
The statement read in part: “It is no longer news that the administration of Makinde has failed to sustain the legacy of prudent and accountable management of resources it inherited from Senator Abiola Ajimobi who left power about a year ago.
“The whole world was again taken aback on Tuesday when it was reported that Gov. Makinde was to get another fresh loan of N20 billion which was even tied to anything concrete. That brought the sum total of loan facilities already taken, in about 11 months, to over N40 billion. The previous being a N10 billion infrastructure loan; N7.6 billion Agricultural Loan purportedly for the upgrade of two farm settlements in Akufo and Eruwa and another N2.5 billion Health Loan. All this happened at the same period when monthly federal allocations, refunds from federal government, monetary grants and donations came in simultaneously and without anything to show for it.
“It is recalled the camp of Mr. Seyi Makinde was popular for sponsoring incessant propaganda against the administration of Sen. Ajimobi between 2016 and early 2019 as it kept misleading the public over the state’s debt profile which they maliciously put at over N150 billion. However, a simple check from the Debt Management Office (DMO) indicated that the state debt profile at that time was N90b with evident heavy spending on recurrent expenditure, infrastructure, job creation, security, poverty alleviation and so on.
“It was in the same mode of propaganda and deceit that Makinde stated during his 2019 electioneering that if he became the governor of Oyo state, he would improve the economy of the state such that in just six months salaries and pensions would be paid without relying on monthly handouts from Abuja or loan facilities. Unfortunately, this is a year after his inauguration and only God knows how much he has paid to banks in interests to sustain the statutory obligation of payments to workers and pensioners,” the APC said.
