Conversion Of College To University, Deception On Ijesa People – Osun PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State has accused Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of elaborate deceit to the people of Ijesha land over his administration’s promise to upgrade the Osun State College of Education, Ilesa College of Education to a full-fledged University.

This is as the Osun PDP alleged that the whole project is a Greek gift to get cheap votes during the Saturday, July 16, 2022, Osun gubernatorial election.

The party in a statement signed by Oladele Bamiji, its Director of Media and Publicity, and obtained by newsmen on Friday declared that the promise was a ploy by the governor to set up the Ijesa people.

The party also alleged that the promise is a deliberate fraud and a mark of insult to the collective sensibility of Ijesha people.

The Osun PDP spokesperson hinted that the Ijesha people could read between the lines as the conversion of the college to a university was a political and electioneering subterfuge of governor Oyetola.

According to the statement, “A governor who has less than six months in office is promising a University upgrade based on a KPMG study that will take a year in the first instance to accomplish.

“In effect, the promise is designed to secure votes in July while KPMG is sure to return a negative verdict on the feasibility of the project after a year.”

Raising the alarm, Bamiji said the consulting firm, KPMG would charge five percent of the entire project cost adding that the process would also create an avenue to siphon money out of the state.

“To confirm that the whole upgrade announcement is a political ruse, we are aware that contracting KPMG will take nothing less than two to three months and the firm will take at least eight to 10 months to complete the assignment.

“The people would have been hoodwinked during elections as KPMG as a world-renown consultancy firm will directly contradict the upgrade announcement by the Governor.”

While calling on Governor Oyetola to actualise the upgrade of the institution to prove he is not deceiving the Ijesha people, the party warned that any attempt to throw up excuses with regard to the upgrade will not do him any good.

Calling on the Osun electorates to get their PVC and perform their civic duty in July, the party maintained that rejection is the appropriate response to an administration that thrives on propaganda.

“If the Governor is really genuine with his intention, such policy decision should have been taken two or three years ago. The state government would have had sufficient ground to design appropriate agenda for the upgrade. Making such an announcement on the eve of the election is an unpardonable denigration of the centuries of accomplishments of the Ijesha people in various spheres of life.

“Governor Oyetola’s conduct amount to playing the “Lagos game” on the people and such immoral act should be punished with a stern rebuke of his re-election bid come July.”

Recall that the media had on Thursday reported that the Osun State Government had announced the conversion of the College of Education, Ilesa to a full-fledged university.

The state government also announced that it was contracting KPMG as a consultant to come out with a sustainable plan for the project.