Fidelis David in Akure
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in Ondo State yesterday faulted the response of the Director General of the state Performance and Project Monitoring Implementation Unit (PPMIU) and son of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, Mr. Babajide Akeredolu, to allegation of looting as false.
The party had on 5th of January, released the names and details of eight companies owned by Akeredolu’s family, alleging that the family was using to siphon the state funds.
But PDP in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Kennedy Peretei, said Akeredolu, should have resigned as governor of Ondo State, if in a more civilized clime, for abuse of his office and made to explain to the people what he knows about all the companies his son registered after being elected as Governor.
“While not denying his ownership or affiliation to the exposed companies and details, topical in Babajide’s response was his claim that most of them have no bank accounts”.
The party said the governor, his wife, and son will have to answer for their involvement in this looting of Ondo State funds.
“Anybody who read the response of Mr. Babajide Akeredolu, son of Governor of Ondo State, to the allegations of his numerous companies used in syphoning funds from the government will at once recognise that, the young man has no business with public office.
His poorly written and disjointed statement which came three clear days after the company details were made public, if anything was a confirmation of the allegations leveled against him.
At least, he acknowledged ownership of five of the companies.”
“The statement of his defence, also showed the shallowness of his intellectual capacity. How such a spoilt brat earned so much respect from his father to make him an “Assistant Governor” is difficult to comprehend. It was his first official statement since his appointment as Director General, PPMIU, yet he used the opportunity to drop names and talked down on youths like him who he described as wasting time on social media making noise. He advised them to focus on diversifying their streams of income. For him, not to have a company of their own at age 30 was abnormal. Of all the trash he spewed out, not one addressed the allegations against him.
“All the companies he confessed to, were registered after his father became Governor in 2017. And to make mockery of his ignorance, he said most of those companies had no Bank Accounts. Also in his defence, he probably forgot to say anything about Terrenovo Agro Ltd and Jackovie Energy, whether they also have no bank accounts and have nothing to do with the Ondo State Government.”
“As to whether or not Babajide will step down from these companies as required by law by virtue of his new status is still not clear, as Government House spin doctors are confused with what information to volunteer in the Code of Conduct Bureau Assets Declaration Form for the young man.”
“There is no point joining issues with those political jobbers who fell over themselves, struggling to offer a word or two in defence of their paymaster. Some of them made matters worse, implicating the man they wished to defend. Others were completely ignorant of the issues in question. It would have been a lot
