- carpets opposition party over Ila Orangun College crisis
The ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Osun State has asked the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, to explain how it allegedly mismanaged the N11.9 billion refund by the Federal Government to the state.
Wondering why the party has continued to exhibit perceived shallowness on critical issues, it also carpeted the opposition party over its position on the crisis in Ila Orangun College of Education.
In a statement signed by its Director of Media, Hon. Hezekiah Oladele Bamiji, the PDP mocked the APC over its alleged glaring failure to portray the administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke as intolerant of corrupt practices.
It noted that Osun people cannot be deceived by the same people who allegedly supervised the mindless looting of the state while they held sway over its affairs.
The statement said the unpleasant development coming out from Ila Orangun College of Education is one of the manifestations of the seed of corruption sown in public institutions by the APC, and that no amount of hypocritical tales will erase the record of alleged corruption and mismanagement of the APC in the minds of ordinary Osun people.
It said: “It is deceptive for the APC to present itself as an anti-corruption voice when its record of corruption in Osun is wide and open to all. In fact, the unfortunate experience from Ila College of Education was enabled by the APC corruption style because it failed to take action when it mattered most.”
According to the statement: “We like to invite the public to note that the Auditor-General of the State had in a report in 2022 indicted the current Provost and a former Registrar of malfeasance. Rather than for the APC to take action, it chose to cover up for the indicted official and this must have encouraged this latest incident.
“Yet, the same APC that covered up fraud in Ila College of Education, even to the point of using its members-dominated Assembly to clear them, because it touches a relative of one of its chieftains, is now concerned about corruption. What an irony!
“We have said it severally and will repeat it that the Osun APC is a gang of mischievous elements, trying to use the people to reach for power to continue with the looting of Osun people’s common patrimony. Therefore, they are better ignored because they never meant well for the people and the State.
“Unlike what happened under the APC, Governor Adeleke has set up a committee to look into the issues in Ila College of Education, promising that there will be no sacred cows.
“Governor Adeleke or the PDP has no reason whatsoever to shield anyone and so, will not need to manipulate findings to perpetuate corruption in that institution as done by the APC.”
The PDP called on Osun APC to face the question of accountability on the N11.9 billion refund to the state by its administration instead of mocking anti-corruption with its voice, saying Osun people have a right to know what happened to monies that the APC received on its behalf.
It said: “While the APC was pretending to be opposed to corruption in Ila College of Education, there were questions by Osun people on what happened to a refund of N11.9bn to the state that the APC administration received.”
“If the APC is not about corruption as Osun people have witnessed, it should come out to answer this question of accountability by providing a detailed explanation of how the money was spent. But we doubt it because the APC did not just loot earnings to the state, it looted borrowed funds, which the people of Osun now go through the harrowing experience to repay.”
