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Oyinlola, CACOL In War Of Words Over N18.4bn Loan

Apr 20th, 2010 | By Bankole Alao David | Category: NEWS

Still on the raging issue of N18.4 billion bank facility to be obtained by the Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola administration, the government has insisted on taking the loan irrespective of the hues and cries of the critics, saying that the die is cast.

The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr. Kazeem Adio has told the House of Assembly committee that the loan was the only avenue open to the government as touching the finance of the government priority projects, saying that the government has reached a point of no-return on the issue.

However, some activists have threatened to drag the state House of Assembly and the government of Osun State to court should the latter approve the loan, claiming that the governor and his men were hell-bent on embezzling the money to give the incoming administration an unwanted debt profile.

Explaining the position of the government on the loan, the Special Adviser to the governor on budget, Mr. Gbenga Babalola has said that the loan would not attract any upfront interest, noting that the government would only pay interest on the amount of money collected from the bank.

Babalola further noted that the listed projects for the loan were very germane to the development of the state, noting that the projects would shore up the revenue profile of the state if completed.

Responding on the questions raised by a legislator on the construction of the zonal stadia put to him by Honourable Kamil Oyedele, representing Irepodun/Orolu State Constituency, Babalola cited the example of Ogun State which has started realizing money from the availability of its synthetic stadia across the state.

Speaking on the construction of the state hotel, the governor’s aide noted that the government would be partnering with private investors, who would contribute funds to the construction of the hotel, putting the cost of the government first installment at one billion naira.

He further explained that the labless kit was designed to cater for provision of instruction materials for each science student across all the public secondary schools in the state instead of equipping the school laboratory that could turn out to be obsolete.

However, the government team could not provide answers to the questions put to them on the repayment of the loan by some lawmakers.

One of the lawmakers x-rayed the figure given by the government on its revenue profile which showed that the loan could not be serviced because there would be nothing left after the sharing of the federal allocation, demanding to know how the government intended to service it, to which no answer was provided.

In the contrary, Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) has expressed its readiness to drag the House to the court of law should it give the bank facility an approval, noting that the group would be more than ready to slug it out with individual lawmakers voting in favour of the controversial loan.

In a statement made available by the spokesman of the group, Comrade Debo Adeniran, the group said it has begun to compile dossiers of individual lawmakers including their shoddy jobs on their constituency projects.

According to him: “We have read about the submission of the leadership of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) which reportedly emboldened the corrupt men at the Osun State House of Assembly on the effrontery to usurp the execution of the constituency projects, which ought to be carried out by the executive and we are of the opinion that the submission would interest the acting president and the international community, which have just shown their concern on the renewed fight against corruption.”

By goke butika

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2 comments
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  1. kabir April 21st, 2010 8:38 am :

    They are theif they want to take the loan and cause debt to next govt.olorun ko ni fun yin se.

  2. Akinogun April 21st, 2010 4:44 pm :

    The simple explanation for this ambiguous facility being sought by Oyinlola is self-aggrandisement. With the uncertainty of tenure that the retrial election petition tribunal poses, it is not reasonable for an honest government to seek a whopping sum of money9(N19billion) that is about 20% of its 2010 budget as a loan in the first quarter of the year.
    Let us examine the items for which this facility is required:
    1.Hotel; whatever is the arrangement ,sole finance by the state or in partnership with whomsoever, cannot be the priority of Osun state now for a short term exorbitant loan to fund. It is illogical to say the least.

    2.Stadia; it is nice to provide infrastructure for sport development. How should it be done? In the absence of a compelling need such as emergency demand for sporting facilities for a national or international fiesta, provision of stadia in a state like Osun where educational and health care facilities are crying for attention and in horrible state, cannot be a priority deserving suffocating loan to execute.

    3.Labless kits; this is a euphemism for outright stealing. Where are the standard secondary schools where the students will require the labless kits?Should a serious government in invest in a substitute when the real thing is more beneficial, enduring and sustainable? Let there be full disclosure; Oyinlola wants to enrich himself through a proxy.

    4. On Going Projects & Township Roads; questions: Which project has Oyinlola completed since 2003?What happened to honeycomb miasma? To be sure, this is not the time to start any construction work. Rains are imminent so any investment on civil works at this time is a huge waste. It is best to start meaningful construction works in October when the weather will be clement. Again this cannot be a priority deserving a jumbo loan.

    5.Technical Colleges; Why build new ones when the existing ones are totally decrepit and dis functional? Let us rehabilitate the existing Technical Colleges rather than siphon money through new ones that will not be built at all.

    7, Iwo-Osogbo Road;a desirable but poorly conceived project. The amount provided is inadequate for the level of work that the road requires. Oyinlola only wants to embezzle the fund once again as he normally does. A loan for which future generation of Osun people will be liable must not be approved for another shoddy ineffective and phantom exercise.

    8.Project monitoring and supervision; this is the only item deserving consideration but not for a loan. A government that cannot use its own resources to superintend its projects is a tragedy and does not therefore deserve to be in office. Rather than obtain a loan to supervise and monitor its projects let the government use its allocations and internally generated revenue to undertake such a fundamental government duty.

    9. Uniosun; what about the regular mandatory though illegal deductions from all the 30 local government councils for this purpose? If the truth must be told, is this institution a republican academy? Of course the answer is no. The fees regime in place in the College makes it an elite centre. It is anachronistic for the people to subsidise the rich through a debilitating loan.

    In all ,the loan request is ill timed, irresponsible and dubious All genuine patriots must resist it..
    By the way what is the situation of the excess crude oil fund released to states and local government councils twice this year in Osun State? I read as the excuse for this unnecessary loan the decline in oil revenue. This is false totally. The benchmark for this year’s budget is $50/ barrel of crude oil and oil has been selling for $75/barrel since October 2009. Where is the decline?

    I dare you to publish your federal allocation and receipts since January for all to see.

    OSUN DOES NOT WANT A BURDEN IT COULD NOT BEAR. OYINLOLA LEAVE US IN PEACE AND NOT IN RUINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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