A civil group, the Civil Societies Coalition for the Emancipation of Osun State (CSCEOS) has uncovered plan by the State governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola to divert the second tranche of Paris Club refund of N12.7 Billion accrued to the state into the funding of forthcoming Osun West Senatorial Bye-Election slated to hold on July 8, 2017.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had fixed July 8 for a bye election to replace late Senator Isiaka Adeleke. It however disclosed that sum of N75million were taken to Alimosho local government area of Lagos State at the weekend for sharing among the thousands of All Progressives Congress (APC) faithful that volunteers to be party agents during the forthcoming bye-election in the State and as well agreed to transfer their Voters card from Lagos to Osun State during the ongoing Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) exercise ahead of of 2018 governorship election in the State.
It added that Mr. Aregbesola had also employed the service of the former Resident Electoral Commission (REC) in the State who hailed from Lagos State at the sum of N55million, for bribing of the electoral officials to compromise the system during the forthcoming bye-election in favour of APC candidate, Mudasiru Hussein.
The group said that it based on these reasons that the State government was silence on the total amount being received by the State out of N516.38billion accrued to the 36 States of the Federation and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and how it planned to spend the money.
CSCEOS further alleged that Mr. Aregbesola has been working on the plan and modality to shortchange the workers and pensioners in the State by concluding to use 40 percent of the N12.7billion which could only pay just two months out of 12 to 13 months backlogs of salaries and pensions arrears in order to have enough funds to sponsor the forthcoming bye-election and as well divert the remaining funds into other phony projects.
It stressed that part of the grand plan of Aregbesola to deceive the civil servants and pensioners in the State, was to begin the payment of two months’ salary and pension arrears out of the backlog, after the conduct of July 8th bye –election, envisaging that the State government might not be able to meet the huge financial expenses of the election, due to the financial buoyancy of the arc-rival of party candidate in the forthcoming election in person of Dr. Ademola Adeleke of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In a statement signed by group’s Chairman, Comrade Adeniyi, Alimi Sulaiman and copies made available to Journalists on Sunday, insisted that Mr. Aregbesola had earmarked the half percent of the funds to be spent on the forthcoming bye-election while the remaining half of the funds had been lodged in a fixed deposit account operated by the state government till after bye-election.
According to the statement, Mr. Aregbesola has been working round the clock in his usual way to ensure justification for the spending of the new Paris Club refunds accrued to the State in order to give impression that his government was transparent in the management of State resources, advising the leaders of the labour unions and pensioners in the State to wake-up from their slumber by not allowing the state government to divert the new funds.
It described Aregbesola as a serial and pathological liar who always made blatant lies in the management of the State resources since inception of his administration in November 27,2010, insisting that all the phony projects being claimed to be spent all the recent bailout funds and Paris-club refunds on, were being financed by the loan obtained from the both local and international financial institutions, adding that the plan to divert the 12.7billon London-Paris club loan refunds, would undermine the human dignity of civil servants and pensioners in the state.
The statement reads: “Instead of Mr. Rauf Aregbesola to use the newly received N12.7 billion London-Paris Club refunds loan from the Federal government to offset the backlog of salaries and pensions arrears of 12 to 13 months, Aregbesola had concluded arrangement to shortchange the Civil servants and pensioners of the State by paying them just only two months while the State government would leave 10 to 11 months salaries and pensions arrears unpaid”.
“Aregbesola is callous, selfish, heartless, wicked, tyrannical, merciless, cruel, brutal and inhuman for leaving the workers and pensioners to be wallowing in abject poverty and you will note that Aregbesola has been silent on the issue of Paris Club refunds to the State unlike other States of the federation. This is high time for every discerning people of the State to demand from Aregbesola to use the Paris Refunds loan to clear the backlog of workers and pensions due with gratuities before the conduct of July 8th,2017 Osun West Senatorial district bye-election”.
Comrade Adeniyi, Alimi Sulaiman,
Chairman, Civil Societies Coalition for the Emancipation of Osun State (CSCEOS)
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1 Comment
Aregbesola promised payment to the workers of the state as soon as the Paris Funds and I’m not sure he would do otherwise because the peace and other of the state will be at stake. Such allegation is highly presumptuous because as a matter of fact it is not true. The Governor knows better than to use this fund for election, or are they saying that the governor does not have his own personal funds to take care of whatever he wants to do. I wonder what the case would have been if these funds did not come in.