Candidate of Social Democratic Party, SDP, in the forthcoming gubernatorial election in Ondo State and former Minister of State for Power, Dr. Olu Agunloye, yesterday accused Ondo State governor, Olusegun Mimiko, of plunging the state into N125bn debt in his seven and half years in office.
This is even as he said the governor squandered over N38bn he met on assumption of office.
Agunloye said while addressing journalists at the national secretariat of his party in Abuja that if given opportunity by people of the state, he would ensure prompt payment of salaries and pension to workers and retirees respectively.
He also pledged to ensure general development of the state.
His words: “We have found out the depth of poverty in the state, the level of degradation, alienation and people almost accepting poverty as living standard.
“This is very painful because over the seven years, we have an administration that inherited N38bn cash but now indebted to over N125bn.
“So, we can say that this is a state where we have expended over a trillion naira, yet people are wallowing in abject poverty.
“This is also painful because the systems in the state are still there, the mineral resources are there, the human resources are there and the things have not been well taken care of.
“In Ondo State now, we have a government that cannot pay salary for nine months, not paying pension and contractors. Now, people are adjusting and the same government is coming out to give them one ‘congo’ of rice or garri without given them water to drink.”
He warned the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government to steer clear of the state in the November election. “By now people ought to have learnt their lesson that this is Ondo State; you don’t mess around with Ondo State and I don’t think anybody will do that because the consequences of that is very large.
“I also need to serve this to people, it is not a warning but point of observation, Ondo State is the natural hub of South West. And, being the hub for the region, if things go right in Ondo State, it will go right in South West. People are not waiting to be messed around and they should better understand that,” he added.
This is even as he said the governor squandered over N38bn he met on assumption of office.
Agunloye said while addressing journalists at the national secretariat of his party in Abuja that if given opportunity by people of the state, he would ensure prompt payment of salaries and pension to workers and retirees respectively.
He also pledged to ensure general development of the state.
His words: “We have found out the depth of poverty in the state, the level of degradation, alienation and people almost accepting poverty as living standard.
“This is very painful because over the seven years, we have an administration that inherited N38bn cash but now indebted to over N125bn.
“So, we can say that this is a state where we have expended over a trillion naira, yet people are wallowing in abject poverty.
“This is also painful because the systems in the state are still there, the mineral resources are there, the human resources are there and the things have not been well taken care of.
“In Ondo State now, we have a government that cannot pay salary for nine months, not paying pension and contractors. Now, people are adjusting and the same government is coming out to give them one ‘congo’ of rice or garri without given them water to drink.”
He warned the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government to steer clear of the state in the November election. “By now people ought to have learnt their lesson that this is Ondo State; you don’t mess around with Ondo State and I don’t think anybody will do that because the consequences of that is very large.
“I also need to serve this to people, it is not a warning but point of observation, Ondo State is the natural hub of South West. And, being the hub for the region, if things go right in Ondo State, it will go right in South West. People are not waiting to be messed around and they should better understand that,” he added.
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