The Imole Campaign Council (TICC) has called on Bola Oyebamiji to provide a detailed account of over ₦700 billion accrued to Osun State during the administration of Gboyega Oyetola, under which he served as Commissioner for Finance.
In a statement issued by its spokesperson, Pelumi Olajengbesi, the council said the demand for explanation is necessary to assess Oyebamiji’s suitability for public office, noting that he directly supervised the utilisation of the funds during the period.
According to TICC, despite the substantial revenue recorded under the Oyetola administration, there was little to show in terms of development and workers’ welfare. The council alleged that civil servants and pensioners faced significant hardship, including delayed salaries, unpaid entitlements, and stagnated career progression.
‘Under the Gboyega Oyetola-led administration, accruals to Osun stood at over N700 billion, yet these humongous receipts failed to serve the people as both development of the state and especially welfare of the state workforce suffered greatly. Oyebamiji, as the Commissioner of Finance during this period, directly supervised the utilisation of the accruals, and rightly owes the people a convincing explanation on what happened.
“It is important to stress out that N700 billion is worth nearly N2 trillion in today’s value and should be more than enough to have a real impact on the people and the development of the state. It needs not reminding Osun people the horrible experience they endured under the past All Progressive Congress (APC) administration because it was a reality they lived and would never wish to return.
“Workers welfare was treated shabbily while pensioners were subjected to inhumane treatment as their due entitlement were left to pile up unnecessarily. Half salary owed by the APC administration was treated as a bad loan that should not be repaid, draining hopes in workers and pensioners on ever getting back what they actually worked for.
“More worrisome, career progression for workers was stagnated and when the Oyetola administration eventually approved promotion, it was audio as the financial benefits were never implemented by the APC administration. Workers in Osun state had to wait for about 18 months before the Oyetola administration implemented the minimum wage, impacting families adversely.
“Despite the huge receipt and the commensurate value, the APC administration failed to genuinely pursue the development of the state, abandoning projects inherited due to toxic politics. Even the few it did were executed through an unholy arrangement known as Alternative Project Funding Approach (APFA), which gave the contractors an undue advantage to inflate project cost and also deliver a poor job, yet the state was made to bear the huge interest cost of loan taken by the contractor to execute the projects.
“In light of the abysmal record of governance by the past administration, we are constrained to echo the questions of Osun people to Oyebamiji– what happened to public fund under his watch as the Commissioner for Finance? It is quite a hard sell that someone who presided over Osun finances without tangible achievement to point out will present himself for the state’s top job.
We strongly believe that Oyebamiji had an opportunity to prove himself in governance but failed grossly. Instead of seeking the mandate of the people, Oyebamiji should be apologising to Osun people for failing them in the past, playing an active role in inflicting unmitigated pains on the people and stagnating the progress of Osun state.
Governor Ademola Adeleke has done so well in clearing the mess of the government that Oyebamiji was an integral actor and as attested by every objective mind, Osun is making commendable progress under him. This is the direction that Osun people have firmly resolved to go in the August 15 governorship poll by voting overwhelmingly for Governor Adeleke.
As we celebrate the priceless contributions of workers across all sectors to global peace and economic stability, The Imole Campaign Council (TICC) wishes to congratulate the indefatigable state workforce, who have served and still serving the state with the very best of their skills and strength.
“We also wish to assure the workers that His Excellency will continue to priotise their wellbeing by treating them as partners in the development of the state, and not as slaves in their own land, which was order of the day during APC’s ruinous administration”, the statement concluded.
