Akinwande Soji-Ojo
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State has berated Governor Seyi Makinde over his alleged penchant for overseas travels at the expense of the residents of the state.
Makinde had announced on his social media pages two days ago that he was on a tour of some European countries in company of certain members of his cabinet, political appointees and associates to meet prospective foreign investors.
This trip was embarked upon few hours after the governor returned from his over one month leave in the United States, Canada and parts of Europe.
In a statement made available to newsmen in Ibadan by its Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, on Sunday, Oyo APC lamented what it called misplaced priority and lack of direction of the Makinde-led administration which it claimed has had negative effects on the socio-economic and political life of the Pacesetter state and its people.
The opposition party also criticised Makinde for always abandoning residents to suffer the consequences of biting economic hardship, insecurity and rights violation while he squanders enormous resources of the state on the sponsorship of his “frivolous foreign trips in company of his army of cronies.”
“It is evident that Gov. Makinde lacks the wherewithal to personally attract foreign investors since he has nothing to show for the numerous junketing ostensibly channeled in that direction in the last five and a half years. The governor had, on several occasions, promised to attract manufacturers of consumable goods, employers of labour and economic development partners from America, Europe, Asia and other countries in Africa (particularly Botswana) but he has nothing to show for this even after countless numbers of trips sponsored with billions of naira from the state treasury.
“But the truth of the matter is that no foreign investor would make a state like Oyo under Gov. Makinde their preferred destination since they cannot be guaranteed adequate security, friendly government policies, freedom to operate and prosper within the framework of international trade laws among others. And the pertinent question is; “can a governor who takes pride in subjugating the freedom of another tier of government guarantee respect for the rights of private individuals and organisations when his own personal interests manifest? The answer is ‘No’.
“Sadly, whatever hold which the present PDP administration in the state can lay claim to has been neutralised by the incessant cases of kidnapping, organised crimes, political violence, rights abuse and so on. Even the residence of the state governor and Agodi State Secretariat are not safe as we have had many cases of property theft, sponsored attacks on individuals and security breaches within and around these facilities in recent times, even though most them were covered up. Recently, one of close allies of the governor was kidnapped in Ibadan and the state government could only secure his release after the payment of several millions of naira to his abductors while many hapless citizens who had been victims of kidnappers in many parts of the state such as Ogbomoso, Oyo-Ibadan Road, Oluyole LGA, Ibarapa axis were abandoned to their fate.
“In conclusion, we implore Gov. Makinde to immediately halt state-sponsored land grabbing activities going in the state in the interest of masses. The rate at which the present administration inflict hardship on the citizenry by forcefully taking over their properties and places of commercial activities is becoming a threat to the peace of the society and it has to stop. Property owners and legitimate tenants of Bola Ige International Market are the latest victims and they deserve justice,” APC said.
