Makinde, Oyo Government Trade Words Over Alleged Last-Minute Spending

Oyo State Governor-elect, Seyi Makinde, on Tuesday accused the outgoing administration of embarking on hasty payment for contracts and projects.

But the government described the accusation as a deliberate ploy to heat up the polity and whip up sentiments.

In a statement by his spokesman, Prince Dotun Oyelade, Makinde alleged that hush money was being ferried from government coffers at an alarming rate since the election result was announced.

He said credible sources within government revealed that non-visible contracts were being used as a guise to cart away millions of Naira from government account with the connivance of a few civil servants.

Makinde said that while he does not want a time-wasting holistic probe as he had promised during his campaign, he will set a dateline upon all contracts awarded and payments made under suspicious circumstances in the dying days of the current administration.

According to the statement, he may be forced to open the books if the aim is to rush money out through foul means before May 29 and leave the state in further financial crisis.

“Cases of unscheduled recruitments and appointments including back-dated once have also been brought before him. Government will be fair but reverse any such move without hesitation but with consequences on those found to have committed infractions of the civil service guidelines.” The statement read in part.

Makinde said that while it was true that the out-going Governor Ajimobi wrote to banks in 2011 to stop honouring cheques from Akala’s out-going administration, he would not tow that line.

But he warned the govt not to exhaust his patience on an issue that bothers on the livelihood of the people of the state.

But reacting, the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism Mr Toye Arulogun, insisted that financial transactions have always been transparent.

Arulogun described the accusation as the latest in a series of propaganda by the incoming governor, stressing that it was false.

It read: “It is a hoax intended to heat up the polity and whip up sentiments.

“Governor Abiola Ajimobi who will be in the saddle of the state till the expiration of his tenure on May 28 2019 has been running the affairs of the State including fiscal transactions in the last eight years in a transparent manner in accordance with good governance and best practices.

“The Oyo State Government will continue to operate in line with its constitutional and statutory responsibilities.

“At the appropriate time, the necessary machinery will be instituted for the outgoing and incoming administration to meet and establish the desirable transition obligations.”