LP Accuses Agagu of plundering of Ondo resources

Olusegun Agagu

The Ondo State Chapter of the Labour Party (LP) has again cried out over the continued plundering of the State’s resources by the State Governor, Dr Olusegun Agagu under various guises which it noted include the fictitious allocation of heavy and unbudgeted resources to various government departments with instructions to spread same on projects which are either phony or have long been completed.

Labour Party whose Flag bearer in the April 14, 2007 Gubernatorial election in the State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko is challenging the declaration of Agagu as governor at the Ondo State Election Petition Tribunal has in recent times placed the Agagu’s administration under the searchlight consistently blowing the whistle on allegations of financial recklessness by the governor. Indeed, the LP had penultimate week alerted of plans by Dr Agagu to forward to the State House of Assembly a N67.5billion 2007 Supplementary Budget saying that it was one of the plans by Agagu to paper up illegal and criminal expenses, especially on the prosecution of the 2007 general elections. The State government is yet to deny this allegation.

In a statement on Sunday, LP’s Chairman, Dr Olaiya Oni, a former Education Minister, alleged that Dr. Agagu last week issued directives to the financial departments to conjure decision of the Financial and General Purposes Committee for the purpose of accessing funds through banks as loans or overdrafts for the payments of committee allowances, severance allowances and other imaginary allowances due to political appointees.

“Also, Local Government Councils have been asked to release N18 million each for the purchase of vehicles and other accessories, while each of them has been directed to contribute a minimum of N5 million to offset expenditure incurred for the burial of Dr. Agagu’s mother-in-law, late madam Ebunoluwa Christiana Aliu and such contributions to be charged to the maintenance of roads, purchase of text-books and schools materials and so on.”

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According to Olaiya, this was the raison d’etre by Agagu “for selling our assets for cash even when Government is over-liquid and keeping funds in fixed deposits; asking for supplementary budgetary provisions backdated to two or more financial years; deductions of funds belonging to local Governments in the guise of compulsory savings and not releasing these funds to local governments as and when due, over-pricing of goods and services in order to accommodate unauthorized heavy expenditures among others.”

He therefore alerted members of the public especially public officials who will be used as cover for these financial recklessness to respected their oath of office and the ethics of their jobs.

His words: “We want to warn the technocrats in particular that as Dr. Agagu does not know the colour of Ondo State Government cheques, he will defiantly tell any future enquiries that these acts were perpetrated by technocrats. We recall how Dr. Agagu flippantly told the House of Representatives Committee probing the power sector that spending 6 billion US Dollar recklessly was not a big deal. He equally reminded us arrogantly that it was not his duty to ascertain the genuineness of those to whom mouth-watering contracts were awarded by the Ministry of Power & Steel where he was a Minister. The technocrats should be blamed!”

And as for the commercial banks in Ondo State who are neck deep in these financial transaction with the State government, Olaiya Oni, cautioned them that while they were an integral part of the financial flow of government, they should “heed the injunction handed down by Mr. President a few months ago that banks should not allow themselves to be used by government agencies – Federal, State or Local to procure loans and overdrafts in a manner that runs against the principles of accountability which the present administration holds dearly,” he added that they should remember the dictum ‘BUYERS BEWARE!!’