The Oyo State Governor, Engr Seyi Makinde has explained why his administration will be spending the N7.6 billion loan secured from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) last week on farm settlements.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Taiwo Adisa, on Saturday, indicated that the Government had equally noticed the deliberate misconceptions and misinformation on the loan facility, saying it was an attempt to colour the truth to confuse the unsuspecting public.
The statement maintained that the administration of former Governor Abiola Ajimobi had obtained the said loan from the CBN and that Governor Makinde, had, in the interest of Oyo State, prevented the past government from squandering the loan at its twilight.
The statement reads in part: “Governor Makinde is not seeking for a fresh loan. The action that was taken by the House of Assembly of Oyo State on Thursday was to give the legislative nod to the State Government to access the fund that had already been domiciled with the government since the days of ex-governor Ajimobi.
“The Governor’s decision to approach the House of Assembly was a mark of his belief in due process, the rule of law and its processes. Ordinarily, some state executives would just have proceeded to spend the funds since it was already in the coffers of the state, but Governor Makinde won’t do that.
“You may wish to recall that sometimes in 2017, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had approved some funds under the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACs) for disbursement to four states including Ekiti; Osun; Oyo and Abia.
“Somehow, the immediate past administration of Governor Ajimobi chose to delay access to that money until April 2019, when the governorship election of 2019 election had been won and lost. That government intended to expend the said money on the purchase of “Agriculture equipment” in less than two months to the end of its tenure. Allowing access to that money within a month of Ajimobi’s exit could only be counter-productive for the people of Oyo State.
“It was the spirit of activism in Engr Seyi Makinde that prodded him to smell a rat in the plan to access that money in the twilight of Ajimobi’s administration and that informed the suit filed by then Governor-elect Makinde at the High Court of Oyo State to secure an injunction restraining the then Governor from accessing that money. The suit, dated May 7, 2019, is referenced M/284/2019.
“It is a well-known fact that the immediate past administration in Oyo State had spent millions of Naira on the purchase of agriculture equipment including excavators and tractors, whose locations cannot be ascertained just a year after the purchase.
