The Civil Societies Coalition for the Emancipation of Osun State (CSCEO), has released details of how the state governor, Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola in collaboration with his aides, local government secretaries and other local government career officers defrauded the state to the tune of billions of naira and as well as driving the state into the bankruptcy.
The group, further alleged that the immediate past Commissioners for Finance, Dr Wale Bolorunduro; Special Duties and Regional Integration, Mr. Ajibola Bashiru, and Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. Kolapo Alimi along with their permanent secretaries, Aregbesola’s former Special Advisers on Works, Sabitu Oladepo Amuda and Environment, Mr. Bola Ilori, as well all the 30 local government executive secretaries with their Heads of Local Government Administration (HLAs) and Directors of Finance(DFs), ‘collaborated with Aregbesola in defrauding Osun people of their meagre resources through phantom projects.’
Addressing journalists and members of the Coalition who gathered at the Ikoyi, Lagos State annex office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) , after submitting a 7-page petition with series of evidence attached to it, to prove the alleged financial improprieties against the state government under the watch of Aregbesola, the CSCEO’s Chairman, Comrade Adeniyi, Alimi Sulaiman, who led the team, alleged that Aregbesola with his collaborators committed various degrees of financial blunders, ranging from inflation of contracts sum, duplication of contracts sum, engagement in moribund projects, money laundering, among others, with the sole aim of siphoning the state’s resources into the private pocket of certain individuals, including Aregbesola’s son, Kabiru .
“Aregbesola began his fraudulent activities with the increment of state wage bill of workers, retirees and political office holders alike from N1.3 billion to N3.6 billion, when no fewer than five thousand workers retired voluntarily from the service of the state government in December 2012, as a result of the Pension Contributory Scheme policy of the Federal government ,maintaining that Aregbesola like now, did not also constitute the members of his cabinet for a period of eleven months, but still claiming the same amount of wage bill in the period,” Comrade Sulaiman alleged.
Meanwhile, the submission of the petition which attracted a mini rally was tagged; “Anti-corruption rally against deceitful Osun State government under the watch of Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola’, in commemoration of six years remembrance of legal luminary and incorruptible human rights activist, Chief Ganiyu Oyesola Fawehinmi, SAM, SAN”.
Members of the coalition carried placards with different inscriptions such as; “Aregbesola Ole! Ole!! Ole!!!,” “ EFCC: investigate Aregbesola and his cohorts now,” EFCC/Lamorde: Don’t be a toothless bulldog, do your constitutional job now,” Bola Tinubu, tell Aregbesola to bring back our money” and “Lamorde; treat Osun petitions as a matter of urgency now and don’t destroy your carrier for OSRAP largesse,”
A minute’s silence was observed in honour of the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, who they described as ‘a man of honour and integrity.’
The group, therefore called on the EFCC to conduct ‘a proper, thorough and credible investigation into the alleged financial misconduct of Aregbesola’s government from November 2010 to August, 2015 and as well as forensic audit of the Osun State government account books.’
The petition reads in part: “The Civil Societies Coalition for the Emancipation of Osun State (CSCEOS) writes this petition to ensure that the sanctity of truth and rule of law that will bring egalitarian society in allocation of meagre resources accrued to the State from the Federation Account as enshrined in the amended 1999 Constitution for the purpose of promoting good government and welfare of all persons in our country on the principles of freedom, equality and justice and for the purpose of consolidating the unity of our people.
“It is against this background that CSCEO brings to your notice for proper and credible investigation and immediate prosecution of the culprits in the criminal mismanagement of funds under the watch of Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola with his criminal-in-aides, including, all thirty executives secretaries of the local governments in the state and immediate past aides of Aregbesola, particularly, Dr Wale Bolorunduro (Commissioner for Finance), Mr. Bola Ilori (S.A. on Environment), Sabitu Amuda Oladepo (SA on Works), Mr. Ajibola Basiru (Commissioner for Special Duties), Mr. Kolapo Alimi (Commissioner for Local Government) and Permanent Secretaries of Ministry of Finance and Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.
“The private investigation conducted by the members of our coalition revealed that the average monthly earnings of the state between the year 2007 and November 2010 was N1,969,622,514.25, while the average monthly earning income of the state between the years January 2011 to December 2014 was at N3,050,074,327,25 and these figures represents Osun earnings from the Federation Account alone and does not include that of Excess Crude Oil fund:N61.7 billion, SURE-P: N14.4billion,Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Fund:N13.9billion, Internally Generated Revenue(IGR) fund: N43.6billion, Value Added Tax(VAT): N? Ecological Fund: N? and Millennium Development Goals fund: N? (All for the period of 2011-2014 courtesy of budgIT, oagf and fmf).
“Meanwhile, it is on record in the state that since November 2010 till date, all the revenues accruing to the thirty local governments across Osun State within the period under review were equivalent to that of the state allocation from the Federation Account and this has also been controlled, managed and disbursed by the almighty Governor Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola.
“Upon all these gargantuan allocations accrued to the state from the Federation Account to the tune of over N500billion, Mr. Aregbesola still plunged the state into debt regime to the tune of over N500billion, all in the name of infrastructural development that had since been abandoned.
” That all those whose names are mentioned aside Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, in this petition for one criminal allegation or the others should be invited by EFCC for interrogation to confess their roles in the aforementioned financial crimes of crude mismanagement of the financial resources accrued to our state from the Federation Account, bonds, Infrastructural Bank and commercial banks and make the outcome of their investigation public on the alleged corrupt practices of the state government which lead to the criminal misappropriation of the State resources.
“That the commission should begin the immediate probing of all the loans accessed for all the abandoned projects like; Gbongan-Akoda road, Old-Garage –Ikirun- Konta- Kwara boundary road, classroom buildings, Moshood Abiola Airport and Dagbolu International Market, among other abandoned projects in the state by the present administration of Aregbesola.”
The government in Osun State is that of fraudsters. The resources of the State have been completely laundered under the guise of one project or the other. None of these so-called project have been commission till date. Some are yet to take-off and loan obtained for the projects have all been accessed. Yet no evidence of ongoing of the projects.