Oyo APC, Accord trade words over Ajimobi’s N4bn expenses on elections, tribunal defence

Oyo State chapter of the Accord Party has berated Governor Abiola Ajimobi for expending N3bilion on the last election and N1billion on the ongoing election petition tribunal in which his victory was challenged.

The party in a statement issued by Hon. Adeolu Adeleke, and made available to New Telegraph Thursday in Ibadan, observed that the continued sufferings of the people in the state especially the teachers, pensioners and civil servants was as a result of the profligacy of the administration of Ajimobi and his lack of show of human face to the devastating situation.

The statement read inter alia that: “The Ajimobi-led government spent more than N3billion to prosecute the last general elections while the state Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi budgeted the sum of N2billion to prosecute the election matters out of which the sum of N1billion has been spent as legal fees for his defence legal team which includes 8 Senior Advocates of Nigeria”.

However, the state APC on behalf of Ajimobi reacted, saying that: “The allegation from Accord that the cash crunch situation in the state was caused by the APC administration of Senator Abiola Ajimobi is not only laughable but another indication that some merchants of mischief were still bent on misleading the public for selfish reasons. The question to ask is that; was Senator Ajimobi’s alleged profligacy responsible for the economic crisis which affect the whole country?

“Prior to the last general elections, the general public got enough lies and half-truths from the same Accord people such that they lost interest in reading or listening from them. Interestingly, the opposition elements remain recalcitrant after failing woefully in a five-legged contest and we could only sympathize with them if they would not desist from waging war against the people of the state.

“The truth is that Senator Ajimobi’s first term in office was a huge success in view of the fact that he spent all the money accrued to the state judiciously on massive road construction, water-tight security, urban renewal, rehabilitation of water works among other laudable projects and this paid off for him on April 11, 2015 when he won a historic contest to serve an unprecedented second term in office as the governor of Oyo State.”

Accord has nevertheless advised Ajimobi to show human face by ensuring that the bailout money from the federal government “is judiciously spent by paying the salary and pensions of the teachers, civil servants and pensioners who are dying on daily basis because of hunger and non-access to medical cares”.