The Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), yesterday took a swipe at Governor Seyi Makinde over what it described as fraudulent increment of the contract sum originally announced for the upgrade of the Ladoke Akinola Airport, Ibadan, warning that turning the project into another conduit for siphoning public funds would come with dire consequences.
The state government had in a statement on Wednesday through the Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, said it had awarded the second phase of the airport upgrade project at a cost of approximately N7.009 billion after the payment of a sum of N42 billion which had been announced as the total cost of the project.
Oyelade also revealed the approval of about N10 billion as the cost for the perimeter fencing, construction of toilets and drilling of solar boreholes in an unspecified number of public primary and secondary schools in the state.
But the APC while reacting to the development in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, lamented the fate of Agbowo Shopping Complex which the Makinde administration has leased in 2021 for 50 years before securing the approval of the State House of Assembly again on Tuesday for issuance of bond ostensibly to remodel the same facility.
The statement read: “It is quite unfortunate that Oyo state would have to grapple with official corruption in the mode of contract splitting, inflated cost government business transactions, lack of transparency and accountability in the management of public funds among others for eight years under the current PDP administration of Gov. Makinde. For about two years, the average amount of money which comes to the coffers of the state is N17 billion even as Gov. Makinde keeps taking loans from different sources and yet no significant positive change in the life of the Pacesetter state. (Thisday)