If you’re a resident of Ibadan the Oyo state Capital, you will notice that the Government of Oyo state has recently developed a style of deliberately scraping of the surfaces of Road’s within the City.
One common feature of the Roads affected by this confusing scrapings is that most of them are not necessarily in a bad shape. Most especially, when you consider the quantum of access Roads within the City and all over Oyo state that are begging for Government’s attention.
The deliberate scrapings and rehabilitate of this Roads within Ibadan has remained a puzzle to right thinking persons.
Presently, part of the Road that passes before the state Secretariat, part of the Dugbe/Mokola Road, Oke Ado/ Molete Road, Mobil/Ring road/ Challenge Road and many more have witnessed or are going through this bizarre scrapings and rehabilitation.
You will wonder why someone would deliberately embark on such a wasteful exercise?
I will provide the answers.
Governor Makinde has emptied the Local Government funds in the Oyo state Joint Allocations Accounts.
He needs an alibi to cover the illegal expenditures.
The alibis are the Roads he deliberately destroyed by scraping and re laying of asphalt of the affected Roads.
You will note that the affected Roads are not always completely scraped.
The practice is just to deliberately create contours on the Roads with some equipments.
The only rehabilitation job that would now be required to be done by Government is the laying of asphalt.
If you’re familiar with Road making, you will know that the Budget required for the rehabilitation of such affected portions of the Roads should be lower because there was no need for anything comprehensive to be done.
You are not constructing drainages. You are not doing any major movement or filling up of the earth surfaces. Just the laying of asphalt.
Now, let us ask the Governor to make public the Budget for the projects in question and I’m so sure even his most unrepentant supporter would be shocked about the revelations.
That is not even the most germaine concern here. There is something bigger and more sinister.
I am saying this with all emphasis. Governor Makinde has been spending the funds belonging to the 33 Local Governments to rehabilitate Roads he deliberately destroyed.
The funds, belonging to the Local Governments which is in the JAAC has been emptied by Governor Makinde and illegally so.
Since the judgment of the Supreme Court which granted full financial Autonomy to the Local Governments, Governor Seyi Makinde has held on to the monthly Allocations for the 33 Local Governments and has been wrecking havocs by misappropriating the funds.
Now, ask yourselves. Since the unfortunate Local Government Election conducted by Governor Makinde some months ago, what development have you noticed in any of the 33 Local Governments?
Apart from the payment of salaries, nothing is happening in the 33 Local Governments.
No developments. Nothing. The Governor has combined his role as Governor of Oyo state with that of the 33 Local Government Chairmen, the 33 Heads of Local Government Administration and the Directors of Finance for the Local Governments.
Before the myopic ones jump in defence of this brazen acts of illegalities by telling us that the judgment of the Supreme Court created a bottleneck and a resolution is yet to be worked out or that Ajimobi didn’t conduct Local Government Election for some period of time, let me take care of their little thinkings.
Even before the judgment of the Supreme Court, there is no Law known to man which empowers the Governor of a state to spend funds meant for the developments of the Local Governments on their behalf.
The responsibilities placed on the Local Governments before spending their funds before the judgment of the Supreme Court is just to obtain approvals for certain levels of spendings. That is all.
There is no Law that allows the Governor of a state to misappropriate the funds through projects or Loans in the name of ” supervision or collaborations”.
The Law says, give them approvals for certain levels of spendings. That is all.
To do otherwise is tantamount to stealing and misappropriation and it is punishable under our Laws.
For those who equate the inability of Ajimobi to conduct Local Government Election during his first term with the wanton illegalities and recklessness we have in our hands now, I will like them to tell me the sense in a situation where Local Government Elections were conducted and the products of the said elections were rendered useless as it is currently happening?
What sense is therein? Local Government Elections do not drive developments.
Even Ajimobi’s Caretaker Committees have verifiable projects you could point at when they served Caretakers of the Local Governments.
What exactly are you going to point at now?
The unexplained Loans? The unfortunate total collapse of Infrastructures in the 33 Local Governments or what?
What is my business with whether a Governor conducted a Local Government Election so far as I see developments within my Local Government?
Wouldn’t I rather prefer a Caretaker Chairman who is performing to a ” Gbewudani” Local Government Chairman who was elected in the first place, from a killing field?
I know what we went through in Ibarapa East during the 2021 Local Government Election.
I will never forget how Auxillary and his gang of PMS boys on the orders of Government evaded Ibarapa East and killed four persons just because they wanted a PDP person as Local Government Chairman.
In the end, was the whole exercise not devised to allow Governor Makinde unfettered access to the Local Governments funds?
Under the previous arrangements, before the judgment of the Supreme Court, Local Governments flourished under previous Governments of Kolapo Ishola, Lam Adesina, Ladoja, Akala and Ajimobi.
Any Journalist who is not indolent or corrupted won’t find it difficult to compare the developments at the Local Government levels during the tenure of the former Governors and contrast with what we have under Governor Makinde.
I was a former office holder at the Local Government level.
I am surprised to see how terrible things have become under the Makinde Government.
In our time, we were given the free hands to develop our Communities through the provisions of Infrastructures like construction and rehabilitation of Roads. Tarring of Roads, building of structures like Court Houses, Markets and Garages.
I make bold to say that the present office Building of the Local Government Chairman in Ibarapa East was built by a former Local Government Chairman. It used to be a Model until now.
The Career Officers in the Local Governments are experts who could drive fantastic developments at that level if given the opportunity.
Unfortunately, Governor Makinde has continued to render them irrelevant and idle.
Those officers are occupying those offices so as to collaborate with the Political office holders to drive developments at the Local Government levels.
Sadly, it is Governor Makinde who is now ” collaborating and partnering” with Local Government Chairmen!
The question is, to what end? ( Aluwaala Ologinni, ogbon a ti ko eran je).
Now, to the main issue. Like I have done severally, I challenge Governor Makinde to deny the fact that he hasn’t been spending the funds meant for the 33 Local Governments on the deliberate destruction and rehabilitation of Roads within Ibadan .
I challenge the Governor to make public, the details of the funds in the JAAC for the past six months and how, who has been spending those funds.
What are the contract details for the Roads in question? With which funds are they being executed? What roles did the Local Governments played during the ” collaborations and partnering”?
What is the reason behind his directives to the Local Government Chairmen to go and open separate Bank Accounts with the First Bank of Nigeria?
I won’t bother him with the details of the Account for the past five years plus that he’s been Governor.
We have said more than enough about that one and the Governor would not be bold enough to give us details.
The new challenge covers just the past six months.
I won’t be surprised if Governor Makinde goes silent again.
However, I must say this, with emphasis that nothing is hidden forever.
Regardless of the deaf and dumb disposition of Government about this illegalities, we will keep exposing them for posterity sake.
Thankfully, the office of the Governor of a state has an expiry date.
We will be here when those who think they’re untouchable now just because they are covered by immunity against prosecution, would be jumping fences and hiding in their toilets to escape nemesis.
Even those who are going through such hazards now once thought such days would never come.
Like they say, ” nemesis is one crazy bitch”.
Share this content:
About The Author
