A sociopolitical group committed to the development of Oyo State, Better Oyo Movement (BOM), has warned Engr. Seyi Makinde, Oyo State governor against unnecessarily publicizing transmission of executive powers to his replacement deputy, Barrister Bayo Lawal, but to take time to answer the series of corruption allegations which daily dog his administration, as well as utilize the remaining one year to make amends to the unprecedented failure his administration has grown to become.
Recall that the Governor had notified the State House of Assembly of his intention to proceed on vacation between Thursday, 11 August to Friday, 2 September, 2022, and his subsequent transmission of powers to Barrister Lawal to serve as Acting Governor during his absence, with the media awash with news about the historical nature of the governor’s action.
BOM, in a release in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, wondered why the governor suddenly woke up to the need to transmit power to his deputy as if he’d never been on vacation in the past three years, the group said it believes this unnecessary celebration of what ordinarily should pass as routine administrative procedure was unnecessary dramatisation, not worth anyone’s time. The governor, the group added, could’ve at least taken a cue from President Muhammadu Buhari who routinely does same, instead of going to town celebrating everyday administrative procedure. BOM invited members of the public to note that this noise about power transmission is but a strategy to advertise the supposed rapport the governor expects from his deputy, which unfortunately didn’t happen in the last three years.
Noting that though Governor Makinde was free to dispense favour to his replacement deputy as he so wishes, especially given the demeaning manner he treated his former deputy; making a mountain out of a molehill, by advertising power transmission to Barrister Lawal – whose video of genuflection at the wedding of Temi Ashamu, Honourable Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources in Ilorin some weeks ago, already gave him off as someone not aversed to servility – is plain childishness.
“We advise the governor to answer to the more serious questions of contract inflation, breach of due process, violation of public procurement laws, amongst other serious infractions raised in the production of N998M-worth of exercise books’ awarded to his broadcaster friend, Mr. Oriyomi Hamzat, proprietor of Agidigbo 88.7FM, rather than spending government funds promoting the historicity of his transmission of power to his deputy less than a year to the end of a four-year tenure. We also wish to remind His Excellency of his threat, since April 2022, of suing Sahara Reporters, publishers of that independent, evidence-backed investigation, originally carried out by a civil society organisation,” BOM said.
“Should the governor have forgotten, we wish to call his attention, again to a report by the same Agidigbo 88.7FM just last week, wherein it was alleged that the sum of N91Million was wasted on a phantom “smart ID card project”, awarded in violation, again, of the state’s public procurement laws, with regards to the award of an unbudgeted project, to an inactive company, whose tax returns aren’t even available with the regulatory authorities. In his usual style, Mr. Governor may wish to sue his friends in Agidigbo 88.7FM too,” the group averred.
The group, whose release was signed by Dr. Femi Fakunle and Engr. Tunji Hammed, Chairman and Secretary respectively, reminded the governor of the massive failure of the local government system, the disaster waste management has become, and worsening insecurity under his watch, querying what even constitutes standards and performance in Governor Makinde’s view.
Noting that the Makinde-Government should realize that the good people of the state are wiser, and politically matured; difficult to hoodwink by a government low on performance but high on propaganda, BOM informed the governor that the people have not forgotten his serial backtrack on promises made before ascending office, and like the current bromance between him and his replacement deputy, would make no big deal to them, as they’re bent on flushing his government out with their votes come 2023.
