The People’s Democratic Party in Osun State on Thursday called on the anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, to probe the 2016 audited report of the Rauf Aregbesola led All Progressive Party government.

Addressing reporters in Osogbo, the state capital, the PDP state Chairman, Hon. Soji Adagunodo, alleged that inability of Aregbesola to pay workers salaries and pensions was as a result of his administration “wasteful spending.”

The PDP maintained that the alleged wasteful spending was evidenced in the audited report.

Adagunodo in a press conference, where many governorship aspirants, including  Oluomo Gbenga Owolabi, Hon. Adejare Bello, Alhaji Fatai Akinbade and Dr. Ayoade Adewopo, we’re present, said the  2016 audit report on the account of the state revealed that the Governor spent a whooping sum of over 6 billion Naira as over-head cost in his office “when at a time the state workers were groaning under the yoke of half and no salary.”

He said: “The office of the governor which is principally made up of the Governor, Deputy Governor, Secretary to the State Government and Chief of Staff expended a sum of N6,367,390,350.64) in one year. This was higher than the entire money spent on education, agriculture and health in the same year.

“Of this figure, the sum of over five billion and fifty million naira was spent on overhead in the office of the governor. This was an increase of almost 400% on the sum of 1.2 billion naira spent on the same over-head in 2015.  The question is what could be responsible for this astronomical rise in overhead cost of running the office of the governor within 12months? How much of this money was funneled into private pockets and on political patronage?

“Other financial irregularities discovered in the report according to the PDP chairman include the building of a website for over 10 million Naira as well as the spending of over 276 million Naira on the maintenance of infrastructure in the Governor’s office while a paltry sum of over 1 million Naira was spent on the maintenance of infrastructure in all the health institutions in the state.

In a reaction, the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Adelani Baderinwa, described the allegations against the government as the ranting of an ant.

He said the opposition party was fond of allegations it could not substantiate.

According to him, the people of the state know the type of people in the PDP, whom he said could not make any impact on the life of the people when they ruled the state for seven and half years.

He said that the PDP would fail in the September 22 governorship election, adding that the party knew that it had failed to win the sympathy of the people in the state.

SOURCE: THE NATION