Posted by When Governor-elect Senator Ademola Adeleke takes office on November 27, the Osun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has threatened to annul all recent illegal appointments made by the governor Gboyega Oyetola administration.
The PDP announced this in a statement issued on Friday by Dr. Akindele Adekunle, the temporary chairman of the party in Osun State.
The statement said: “All important appointments, including those for the Iree and Esa Oke Polytechnics and the recent criminal appointment of the new Project Coordinator for the World Bank-sponsored RAAMP project, will be promptly reversed as they were made in violation of the regulatory protocol governing the crucial rural development project and the enabling laws of the institutions.
“All recent illegal employment exercises and letters that followed, whether current or backdated, stand void as of November 28 because the alleged beneficiaries received adequate warnings not to fall for the devious plan to fill the public payroll with APC allies.
“New RAAMP Coordinator’s unauthorized appointment”
“With regret that Osun state is about to lose out on the $150 million World Bank-supported Rural Access and Agricultural Mobility Agency (RAAMP) because of the illegal firing of the current project Coordinator, whose appointment was advertised and proper selection was supervised by world Bank officials led by the National coordinator in the year 2020.
“We want to let the public know that Engr Okediya, the original Coordinator, was illegally fired without warning and with the approval of World Bank officials, and Engr Mumini Adekunle, the current Special Adviser on Rural Development, who also doubles as a contractor with RAAMP, a partner with Dutum Engineering, and who owns Integrated Logistics in its entirety, was hurriedly appointed in his place.
“Engr Mumuni was the contractor in charge of using highly penetrating chemicals to seal the base course of every RAMP 2 Project in township portions costing over #800 million naira. According to reliable information, the agency is still owing him money from the completed projects.
The desire to steal state property at the last minute knows no bounds nowadays. Or how suddenly becomes a contractor the project manager?
“We guarantee to stop this selfish criminal behavior as soon as the PDP government takes office, as the World Bank may cancel anticipated funding for the project if this illegality persists.
We won’t let Osun be made fun of by the World Bank, which follows a set process for selecting project coordinators everywhere.
“We’re also cautioning financial institutions and accountants not to approve last-minute fund transfers.
As a farewell present for this defunct administration, we learned that the agency’s accountant was being pestered by phone calls to sign documents authorizing illegitimate counterpart payments. No public official should support crime.
“We want to inform the public that we have a petition ready for the EFCC, ICPC, and NFI’s immediate attention. We listed all the violations and urged the anti-corruption organizations to investigate this criminal activity.
Speaking about the recent appointments of new Rectors for Iree and Esa Oke Polytechnics, the PDP stated they were made in violation of calls for due process.
“The state administration violated the two institutions’ enabling legislation in order to appoint new Rectors to the institutions.
“After carefully analyzing the circumstances, we declare with confidence that those appointments are untenable and will be revoked as soon as the PDP assumes power.
The party promised to evaluate and overturn all comparable appointments at state-funded universities.
Regarding mass hiring, the Osun PDP stated:
“We also want to make it known that since the July 16 elections, the outgoing administration has employed over 12,000 individuals across a variety of cadres.
We have been advising the general public to refrain from participating in such destructive agendas. Additionally, we have released a number of declarations deeming such employment exercise null.
“Any employment performed during the past few weeks is void and won’t appear on the state payroll.
We are aware that the bulk of people who are hired illegally are APC members, with the intention of undermining the state’s ability to fund itself.
In Mr. Oyetola’s final days in power, our administration would not think twice about firing all those who were hired without authorization.
The state PDP further stated that there is a significant amount of “fund movement within the state government and urge attention of financial institutions on the need to avoid complicity and criminal association.
“We learned last week that N4 billion was given to Infinity, a company in which senior state government officials hold a controlling stake.
The company does tax management. We continue to be in disbelief at such a payment while so many of our elderly are passing away.
We urge the banking industry to avoid cooperating with the departing administration, the party added.