The Osun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has advised Governor Rauf Aregbesola tostop wasteful spending and to sell the helicopter which he had allegedly purchased for the security surveilance of the state to pay worker’s salaries.
This was contained in a statement issued on Sunday, June 7, 2015, by the PDP Director of Media and Strategyb in the state, Mr. Diran Odeyemi.
The statement read, “The PDP is urging the government to sell the helicopter Governor Aregbesola said was procured for the state and he should stop frivolous trips to Cuba.
“What this administration told us was that the helicopter was to be used for surveillance, but we have since discovered that the machine is only serving the traveling needs of Mr. Aregbesola and his family. This remains one draining pipe that must be blocked.
“The governor and his aides should also forthwith stop traveling in chartered aircraft around the world. If President Muhammadu Buhari could be traveling on British Airways, even when aircrafts in Presidential fleet are available, there is need for Governor Aregbesola to borrow a leaf.”
PDP also asked the governor to cease wasting state resources on politics and arming a group of youth, he called ‘State Boys.’ The opposition also tasked the new Osun State House of Assembly members not to endorse the activities of the executive. They asserted that the hopes of the people now lied in the hands of the lawmakers to check the excesses of the governor for mass interest.
The statement read further, “It is also fresh in our minds, the huge amount Ogbeni Aregbesola expended on the last Ekiti governorship poll, Lagos governorship poll, and the Presidential project of the All Progressive Congress, APC.
“Also, a group of miscreants called ‘State Boys’ are being illegal armed and financed by government to unleash terror on many indigenes of the state by the ruling party.
“All these actions and many other wasteful spending led us to where we are now, which if they could be reversed, could bring financial reserves for the state.
“But if Ogbeni Aregbesola will not treat this advise with disdain, and henceforth, begin to act as governor of all, we believe at least, he will be able to pay few months of the backlog of salaries owed workers and retirees.”
The governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, has replied the PDP statement with a statement of his own issued through his media aide, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, the governor described the allegations as infantile and a way of seeking cheap publicity.
The statement read, “It is disheartening this is how degenerate PDP has become in their thinking process. They screamed ignorantly about two years ago that Osun procured a helicopter with a sum of N8 billion. We had asked them to find out the cost of a Boeing plane let alone a helicopter which was only leased and it was to beef up the Osun Swift Action Squad for its aerial surveilance. This was clear to all in the state that the helicopter was procured as part of the Rauf Aregbesola administration’s comprehensive security measures to drive criminals far away from the state.
“For the PDP in its narrow thinking to tell us to sell the helicopter is a sign of intellectual laziness. The allegations that Aregbesola uses the helicopter for his personal use lack any evidence.
“It is obvious the PDP, after it has reached its final bus stop of defeat rigmarole, as typified by the Supreme Court decision of May 27, 2015 is merely looking for something to keep it relevant.
“The people of Osun need adequate security which PDP failed to provide throughout Nigeria in its 16 years of misrule. The People of Osun require good governance which the PDP could not give them. I therefore advise that shameful lies such as those Odeyemi cooked up again and threw to the media would not help the party. They would help sink it deeper.”
