Ondo LP raises alarms over fresh looting of govt. properties by Agagu
The Ondo State Chapter of the Labour Party (LP) on Sunday raised alarm over plans by the Dr Olusegun Agagu regime to commence the looting of government monies in the accounts of Boards, Commissions and Parastatals in commercial banks in the State.
In a release issued by the LP’s Director of Press, Research and Strategy, Mr. Kolawole Olabisi, the party also disclosed that the State government has given all the council Chairmen in the State the permission to commence, beginning from this week, the sale of government vehicles in their councils to fronts at give away prices.
According to Olabisi, following the stoppage of the cheques for payment of some of Agagu’s phantom projects to contractors by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in recent time, the State Government last week through the Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Tayo Alashoadura directed Chairmen of all the Boards, Commissions and Parastatals to furnish it with details of their accounts in commercial banks in the State with a view to contributing to on-going projects embarked upon by the State government. Officials of the Finance Ministry were actually deployed to the banks last week to ascertain the actual amounts in these accounts.
His words: “Following the hammer of the EFCC and the ICPC which had beamed their searchlights on the financial activities of the Agagu Government and with the actual stoppage of payment of over N8billion to its contactors, the Agagu government has devised an ingenious gimmick to beat the anti-graft agencies. Part of this ruse was to task Chairmen of Boards, Commissions and Parastatals, who are appointees of Dr. Agagu in any case, to fund this project which it insisted must go on at all cost EFCC and ICPC threats notwithstanding.
“Also from this week, local government council chairmen who would also be co-sponsors of these projects would as their rewards commence the sale of government vehicles in their councils to fronts and political associates as scraps. For instance, at Igbara Oke, the headquarters of Ifedore local government Council, the Council Boss, Mr. Adewunmi Adesoye will on Thursday this week commence the sale of serviceable including those recently bought as used vehicles (Tokunbo) which had curiously been labeled as scarps to political associates.”
The LP spokesman disclosed that the intention of Dr Agagu and his acolyte is to ensure that should Dr Olusegun Mimiko, whom the Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Akure had declared as winner, be returned by the Appeal Court to which Agagu had gone to seek redress; his administration would be crippled by these spates of untoward financial recklessness.
“And in line with this evil thought, a lot of activities are being daily put in place by Agagu, these include the bazaar of contracts awards now backed up with over 50% mobilization fees contrary to the extant financial regulation in the State which pegged such down-payment at 30 %; the sudden mass employment of workers into the Civil Service in the last 6 months following the July 25, 2008 Judgement of the Tribunal which nullified Agagu’s pyrrhic victory in the April 14, 2007 election, an exercise which Agagu had not deemed fit in the last five years all in his bid to load the financial burden of the in-coming administration and the sale of government properties to fronts at rock bottom prices.”
But in urging the duo of EFCC and the ICPC to note the current anti-people activities of the Agagu government, the LP has a warning for public servants who are being used to perpetrate this plundering of the people’s commonwealth to be prepared to go with the Agagu regime as they would be made to face the music in the fullness of time.
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