TheCable

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo state says the proposed N8billion Iwo road project announced by Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo state, is a misplaced priority.

On Friday, Makinde announced at a central mosque that the state government will embark on the project to reconstruct the Iwo road interchange in Ibadan, the state capital.

He said the project, which would be completed in a year, will reduce traffic and decongest the area.

Reacting to the announcement, Ayobami Adejumo, assistant publicity secretary of Oyo APC, tackled the governor.

He questioned the authenticity of the contract, saying that neither pictures nor contractors for the project have been seen by members of the public.

“The good people of the Pacesetter State were taken aback by the action of Makinde last Friday when he chose a mosque as the place to announce the plan to do a multi-billion project. Without any record of presentation at the State Executive Council meeting or consideration and approval by the appropriate organs of government as required by law, the governor reeled out a contract sum for another white elephant project,” the statement read.

“The question on the lips of many people now bothers on how the cost of N8 billion was arrived at even when no picture of the proposed project had been shown to the world.

“What is the scope of the project and where are the engineering designs that culminated in the contract sum? Was there any due diligence before the cost was arrived at? When did the consultants carry out the survey of the proposed site? Where is the bill of quantity? When did the relevant office advertise for tender?”

Adejumo alleged the governor was seeking means to squander public funds, adding that other approved federal government projects will lead to positive development around the interchange.

He asked Makinde to concentrate on a follow-up on the rebranded exercise books by providing grants for school children.

“Why the desperation on the part of Gov. Makinde to commit such a huge amount of money to any construction work in an area that would be covered by two different projects already awarded by the federal government?” he asked.

“As it has become the usual practice of the Makinde-led administration to put the cart before the horse, the people of the state cannot just watch while a government without any blueprint or action plan will continue to experiment after five months in office.

“So far, the only achievement of the current administration is the rebranded exercise books distributed recently with pomp and pageantry. It would have been better to follow up on the exercise book distribution with provision of pieces of furniture and release of running grants for public primary and secondary schools across the state.

“If not sheer display of incompetence and the unbridled quest to mismanage public funds, there is no reason for this kind of desperation for contract awards by the present administration.”

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party said the APC showed insensitivity by criticising the proposed project.

In a statement issued by Akeem Olatunji, state publicity secretary of the PDP, the party said the APC showed utter disregard for the state’s economy, ”which has been bleeding as a result of the loss of man-hours due to traffic congestion at the interchange”.