The All Progressives Congress in Ondo State says a new residency card is merely another form of exploitation by Governor Mimiko, and calls its corresponding fee “a clear act of betrayal.”
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State has described the launching of a residency card called 'Kaadi Igbeayo' as another deliberate attempt by Governor Olusegun Mimiko to siphon the State's funds.
In the APC’s statement, the Party wondered why the Mimiko-led government would force the State’s poor masses to pay a fee before obtaining the valueless card. The statement said the State’s APC observed such action as unlawful and redundant, since the Kaadi Igbeayo contains similar information to that stored on federally issued cards. It also accused the Mimiko government of subjecting workers to poverty, sack, retrenchment, and non-payment and delay of workers' salaries.
On Thursday of last week, the controversial Governor Olusegun Mimiko launched the residency card at a well-attended event in Akure, the Ondo State capital, touting the slogan "No Card, No Access." The card will be required for Ondo State residents to access government social services.
The State has spent over N5 billion on the residency card since its conception, an authority on the matter told SaharaReporters. Residents will be required to pay an additional N2000 fee to receive their own.
The APC called the fee “a clear act of betrayal” since the Governor promised to make the card free when the project began.
In the statement, the APC Publicity Secretary Omo'ba Abayomi Adesanya described the residency card as a new way to exploit unpaid government workers and the poor masses.
"Over N5 billion of taxpayers' money have been reportedly spent on the project without corresponding benefits for the good people of Ondo State,” Adesanya said. “This card is valueless, ineffective, and [a misplaced priority]. It is another wicked act of Mr. Mimiko to extort money from the same civil servants that he has been denying of salaries and other entitlements for months.”
Furthermore, his statement said, “the card carries almost the same information as the National Identity Card and the National Drivers' License.”
On Thursday, Mimiko said residents in the State above the age of 15 year old should apply for the residency card, noting that it would become an entry ticket for all government social utilities and benefits.
"Kaadi Igbeayo is a State-wide, dynamic, chip-based multipurpose transaction card that contains the Basic Bio Data as well as socio-economic data of holders,” Mimiko said. "It is a smart card that serves as an interface between the State government and all residents.”