Bode Durojaiye, Oyo
Youths from Oyo and Oke-Ogun areas of Oyo State have appealed to civil society groups not to be complacent about what they referred to as “unwholesome developments” in the state, but to rise and check the brazen impunity being unleashed on the people by Governor Abiola Ajimobi.
The aggrieved youths under the aegis of Movement Against Corruption And Bad Governance made the appeal on Tuesday at their maiden meeting in Iwere Ile in Iwajowa
Local Government.
The group’s spokesman, Abimbola Olaoluwa, said the call became necessary in order to nip in the bud what he called ‘autocratic governance’ in the 40-year-old state.
He said: “Leadership in the state under Governor Ajimobi is
frightful, based on unbridled selfishness with its attendant virus of corruption and ineptitude dispositions”.
Olaoluwa hinted that during the coronation anniversary at the palace of the Alaafin of Oyo, Ajimobi told the gathering that 90 per cent of the state funds were being consumed by workers who are less than two per cent.
“The entire world wants to know from the governor the authentic figures of the state workforce, how much is monthly wage bill and why most workers, including secondary school teachers and local government workers, are yet to be paid their salaries running into four or five months? How
much is the state monthly federation account allocation and the internally generated revenues? Why is it that bail out funds from the Central Bank Of Nigeria was not enough to pay workers’ salaries?”
Olaoluwa also challenged the governor to publish the monthly federation account allocations, including the excess crude allocations for each of the 33 local governments for three and a half years of his first tenure, as well as how much was released to each of these councils by the state government.
While berating the state legislature for what he called
“docility of members and lack of sense of commitment” to the plight of the people, he accused them of selfish tendencies, thus becoming mere rubber stamps to Ajimobi.
Said he: “This is why we are making this clarion call to all
civil society groups not to sit on the fence but wake up from deep slumber and save our pace setter state from leadership with toga of arrogance and authoritarianism.
Olaoluwa buttressed his arguments with non composition of the state cabinet, and local governments executives, eight months after assumption of office.
“You need to go round the state and feel the agonising mood of the teeming impoverished people, especially at the rural areas whose only access to governance is the local government.
“Though, we are vehemently opposed to caretaker administration at the council level because it is an aberration, but since the governor has refused to conduct councils poll, the vaccum unreasonably created should, at least, be timely filled, even if it is the caretaker system.
“The governor even made the promise of appointing the caretaker chairmen on or before the end of last month. We are now in February and he has not fulfilled his promise. How reliable is such a leader?”
