The administration of former Osun State Governor, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, has described the incumbent governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke’s allegation of looting of government property as unfair and shameful.
Mr Oyetola said it was not his intention to imperil his successor, incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke’s new administration.
Funke Egbemode, the ex-information commissioner under Mr Oyetola, said “unknown men” were behind the looting, asserting it was “beyond laughable” to accuse “a man of Oyetola’s pedigree of taking away the Government House cooker.”
Ms Egbemode, in her statement, said relevant security outfits were duly informed of the looting perpetrated by “unknown men.”
“It is also important to note here that the state commandant of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, was officially informed of the looting of the official residence of Deputy Governor Gboyega Alabi and other quarters within the Government House by ‘unknown men’,” asserted Ms Egbemode in her statement.
“In a letter with reference number SEC 43T/352, dated November 25, 2022, and signed by A.T. Komolafe on behalf of the coordinating director, Governor’s Office, the NSCDC was notified of the ongoing looting of government properties in different quarters following the then-Governor Adegboyega Oyetola’s departure from the premises,” she explained. “Mr Komolafe, in the letter, asked for armed security to stop the looting in the Government House of Okefia GRA.”
The spokesperson to the governor, Olawale Rasheed, in a reaction to Egbemode’s statement said the former commissioner’s claim was a confirmation of the alert raised after the investigation of the looting.
He said, “We want to put it on record that the Adeleke administration is not involved in lying and propaganda as a tool of governance. As a new administration, Governor Ademola Adeleke has a duty to report what he met on the ground to the people of Osun state.
“This is especially so as the Oyetola administration refused to conduct proper handing over. Running an open government entails disclosing both assets and liabilities of the state government. As much as we commend the former commissioner for owning up to the looting on behalf of his former boss, she should have stopped at that and not attack the new administration that is cleaning up the mess created by her former boss.
“Leaders must take responsibility. The extensive looting was effected under Oyetola’s watch and he should own up and not blame unknown hoodlums.”
