A security expert, analyst and public commentator, Mr Akin Adeyi, has again taken a swipe at Senator Ademola Adeleke, the governor of Osun State. This time around, Adeyi in a social media comment, noted with regrets that a huge mutual distrust hitherto growing silently between the governor and the good people of the state have snowballed and worsened into the people’s open hate for the governor....CONTINUE READING
He said: “His penchant for unintelligent lies, deceits and poorly scripted government propaganda may have been responsible for the current no love lost between the governor and the people.
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“The Osun public and Nigeria in general will not forget in a hurry the many unfulfilled promises of the governor in this his uneventful eleven month-old administration. It is a long list on the average – one week- one deceitful statement.
“However, the latest of his lies was in the assurances he emphatically made to the people of the state during the maiden edition of Ipade Imole that his government would flood the towns and cities of Osun with buses which, he said, would serve the people free with effect from 19th day of October, 2023.
“Prior to his repeating the same statement during the maiden edition of the Ipade Imole which he held on 5th day of October, 2023, the governor had on several occasions before, repeatedly told the people that his administration had the best of free transportation plans for them.
“One of such instances was on the 1st day of July, 2023 during a meeting he held with his party stakeholders in Osogbo. Four months have passed without any iota of fulfilment of this statement just as people continue to suffer untold hardship as caused on them by the high cost of transportation”, the analyst stated.
Adeyi said that he was not unaware that the government though, had refurbished some of the grounded rickety Coaster buses which it inherited from the previous administrations with the intention to convert same into free transportation use for the people of the state, but the public analyst frowned at the government decision in this aspect.
He asked on how plausible it is for a state government to deploy just ten buses it refurbished to service a population of about five million people for their palliatives on fuel subsidy removal.
The statement also queried the government preference for the refurbishment of almost ten year-old vehicles above outright purchase of new ones?
In Adeyi’s words: “These buses purchased in year 2014 by the administration of Mr Rauf Aregbesola have probably served out their best during one decade of their intensive utilization as shuttle buses by the schools they were attached to. As such, any amount of refurbishment will culminate into colossal waste except it is intended as another means of further siphoning of the state’s funds which the government of Senator Ademola is notoriously good at doing.
“It smacks of fraud, lack of intelligence and terribly wrong decision for a government who can afford to also buy new buses as did other states with their Federal Government’s given N2billion palliatives to say it has settled for refurbished buses in this case. Nothing compares to new vehicles in this kind of project. Unlike refurbished vehicles, new buses will provide the owners with, at least, some two years major maintenance holidays.
“Whereas spendings on replacement of spare parts, repairs and maintenance of refurbished vehicles will continue unabated from the day of the decision to refurbish them,”, the analyst hinted.
“For possible solution, Adeyi proffered that the government, in so far it has not embarked on the distribution and use of the ten refurbished buses can still reverse itself on the initial decision.
“Government should jettison the idea and go for outright purchase of new buses. Among many options available, the government might decide to sell off the old vehicles to private individuals or the public transport operators at some friendly prices and in such a way that it will form their own palliatives. The proceeds of sales can be added to the government budget for new befitting buses. “
“Another available option is in when government decides to allocate the already refurbished buses to the needing ministries and parastatals so that it can serve as part of their palliatives when put to use for staff shuttle buses.
“Finally, the statement enjoined Adeleke to wake up from his slumber and begin to act too. He should not just act but act wisely and timeously to alleviate the people’s plight. The governor is indebted in proving to the people that he was neither a ‘Kick-and-start’ or ‘bag of beans’ that the opposition nicknamed him. It is important he takes a queue from his colleague governors who have since expended judiciously their own N2Billion palliatives.
“Three months have passed since when Adeleke also received Osun peoples’ N2billion palliatives but with nothing to show for it”, Adeyi observed.
