Investigate Governor Makinde, HoS over job racketeering, under-remittance of PMS revenue, among others, Hakeem Alao tasks Oyo Assembly

By Lai Mahmood

Engr Oyedele Hakeem Alao, the candidate of Alliance for Democracy (AD) in the last governorship election in Oyo State, has sued the state’s House of Assembly to investigate Governor Seyi Makinde and the Head of Service of the state over the alleged job racketeering against the latter’s son, while pointing also to the shoddy deals in the remittance of the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

This was contained in a statement signed and made available to newsmen in Ibadan by the AD governorship candidate’s head of media, Omotayo Iyanda.

The AD candidate notes that “Since we all have been hit and battling with the dreaded Corona Virus (Covid-19), a lot of issues,” which include “remittance of the park management revenue, illegal revenue collection by a personal aide of Governor Seyi Makinde, cost of construction of the modern bus stations by his administration, and latest of all, the alleged job racketeering said to be going on under this administration need to be investigated and clarified.

“In March this year, we raised an alarm about the inflation of the total number of workforce and their wage bill as 115,000 and N11b monthly respectively given by Governor Makinde at the Florida Business Forum in February, 2020, as against 100,000 and N5.2b as at August 2019, which the state publicity secretary of the ruling People’s Democratic Party, Engr Akeem Olatunji, discountenanced as nothing to complain about.

According to the statement, the allegation of job racketeering against the son of the high ranking public servant in the state was a clear pointer and confirmation of the claim that the government of Engr Makinde had dishonestly increased the total number of labour force and their wage bill when there was no basis for such figures.

However, news on social media and, according to Engr Hakeem Alao, had it that the young man in question “who has been exposed and allegedly reported to be arranging and/or promising jobs as ghost workers to be on the payroll of the state government as compensation” for helping the ruling party, PDP, “to coast to victory in the 2019 elections in Oyo State”.

Engr Hakeem Alao, in the statement said he sued the state’s House of Assembly to investigate the gover and his Head of Service because “It has been the characteristic practice of the present government under Engr Seyi Makinde to ignore call to action as this.

It is, therefore, on this note that the Oyo State House of Assembly is called upon to investigate the issues, particularly of the job racketeering allegation leveled against the son of the high ranking public servant in the Oyo State Civil Service,” and other “issues raised in this press release for the sake of accountability, honesty and transparency in governance and in the best interest of the people of the state.

“The Seyi Makinde led government introduced park management system (PMS) which is to raise the internally generated revenue (IGR) of the state but regrettably there have been reports of poor management, under remittance of revenue from the parks and assaults on the public by the park managers. There is no clear record of account of the revenue generated and quite a large chunk of the money has been diverted through cronies to some close associates of the governor and the governor himself.

“There is no clear operational system of tracking of the IGR by the government. It is on record that the Ajimobi led government grew the internal generated revenue from N8.9b in 2011 to N24.64b by the end of 2018 and by the third quarter of 2019 when his administration came to the end, the IGR was N14.06b. By the end of the third quarter of 2019, there was a steep decline in the state’s IGR by 20% compared to the second quarter. Furthermore, there are also recorded cases of extortion and collection of rates and levies above the government approved.

“Related to this is the alleged illegal enterprise of collecting revenue from the dump truck (tipper) drivers and quarry workers by a powerful dude in the government of Governor Makinde, who has been with him as both an aide and driver for so many years ever before they won the 2019 governorship election.

In fact, it is on record that the person in question is an unquestionable authority in the present government in the state. The macho man is allegedly so powerful that his words are law in the Makinde-led administration and that is the more reason he goes scot-free in whatever he does whether it is legal or otherwise as his governor master looks elsewhere whenever he is reported.

“While the construction of modern parks in four locations in Ibadan may be a good development but there is a greater need to have all roads linking each local government and arteries within the state in motorable conditions free of dangerous pot holes. What is the essence of modern parks without good roads?

“Also, the Seyi Makinde led government should know that it is the right of the public to know the unit and total cost of the modern parks. If the cost of award is not given, it would raise a huge suspicion about the real motive behind the award of this contract. We request, for the purpose of transparency and accountability, publication of the cost of the contract(s).

“We also request the Seyi Makinde led government to put in place a clear, concise and transparent system for proper tracking and collection of the state’s IGR. We believe that the Seyi makinde government would prove doubting Thomases that he would do better than Uncle Ajimobi led government by reaching his set monthly target of N4b.

Engr Oyedele Hakeem Alao submitted that “The above issues, among others, call for investigation and clarification by the Governor Seyi Makinde administration. We cannot continue to look elsewhere on the real issues of transparent and accountable governance on account of the sympathy emanating from the ravaging Covid-19.”