The All Progressives Congress in Oyo State raised concerns on Tuesday regarding the alleged misdirection of funds and essential supplies provided by the Federal Government to alleviate the hardships caused by the removal of fuel subsidies during the President Bola Tinubu administration.
Tinubu had declared his intent to implement relief measures to alleviate the suffering caused by hunger and economic difficulties, particularly among the less privileged in the nation.
It’s noteworthy that a portion of these aid funds and supplies was reportedly released through both state and local governments in recent weeks.
Some states, such as Kwara and Ogun, openly acknowledged receiving these resources.
In a statement from Olawale Sadare, the APC Publicity Secretary, issued in Ibadan, the capital of the state, on Tuesday, criticism was directed towards the PDP government in the state for allegedly concealing details about the receipt, allocation, and management of the resources and provisions provided to Oyo State by the Federal Government, which were intended for the benefit of the state’s residents.
He remarked, “Almost every state in the country has announced the receipt of a minimum of two billion naira out of the five billion naira allocated by the Federal Government to support the most economically vulnerable through the state governments.”
“Recently, the nearby states of Osun and Kwara declared the reception of two billion naira each, whereas Makinde chose not to disclose this to the public, following his usual pattern.”
“For roughly six weeks now, the whereabouts of the three thousand bags of rice that Makinde received from Abuja remain unknown to the state’s populace.
There are indications that these resources might have been diverted, much like what happened with the COVID-19 relief materials provided by the Federal Government, corporate bodies, and individual philanthropists.”
“We also urge Makinde to clarify why he instructed local government council chairpersons to transfer the two installments of N56 million, which the federal government allocated to the local governments between August 16 and 18 this year, into the state government’s account.
The 33 local government councils in the state collectively received N3.696 billion, yet they seemingly failed to utilize any of these funds for their intended purpose.”
“It’s apparent that the supposedly organized Palliative Committee established by Gov.
Makinde about a month ago was merely a façade to deceive the public, as the committee’s practical role appears to be negligible.”
“We wouldn’t be taken aback if the state government were to release a limited quantity of rice and noodles to the committee in the upcoming days and instruct them to distribute these provisions to a few members of the PDP, all for the sake of creating an impression that the targeted impoverished population in society has gained benefits,” Sadare concluded.”
