By Dapo Johnson
The All Progressives Congress, APC in Osun State has raised alarm over the alleged refusal of Governor Ademola Adeleke to disburse the N2 billion federal government fuel subsidy removal palliative for the vulnerable in the state.
The Osun APC Chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, who raised the alarm in a statement on Saturday, noted that it was worrisome that Governor Adeleke is still confused on what to do with the money when other states had since completed the process of disbursement.
Lawal said, “The delay in the disbursement of the N2 billion by Adeleke as and when due is a sheer act of wickedness and confirmation of lack of empathy by the PDP administration for the needy in the state.
“Governor Adeleke and his co-travellers should tread with caution if the news going around in the state is true that the state government has fixed in the bank the said N2bn to take an undue advantage of the accrued interest.”
The Osun APC Chairman advised Adeleke to effect the disbursement of the fund to the needy without further delay, saying, “He doesn’t need to wait for the people to die of hunger until something positive in that regard is done.
“If the Adeleke administration is callous, insensitive and wicked enough not to activate its own arrangement to cushion the effects of the fuel subsidy removal for the people of the state, it should not be a stumbling block to share the ones provided by the federal government led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
He recalled that Governor Adeleke did not share the rice palliative until he was revved and pressured by the main opposition party in the state and that the exercise was done in a shoddy manner targeted to benefit only the members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.
But in a swift reaction, the Osun State government dismissed the APC allegations as mere rhetoric.
The state government also urged the people of the state to be wary of schemes by the opposition to pitch them against the Adeleke administration.
In a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, the State Government said it was unfortunate that the APC is counting on sheer misinformation to warm itself back into the hearts of the people.
While assuring that the N2bn is safe and will be applied in a transparent manner to beneficiaries, the state government stressed that it is resolved to transparency and judiciously administering any resource in its possession.
“For the APC to begin to peddle outrageous claims that this government is hoarding N2bn funds received from the FG is a clear sign of how low it has sunk. The APC has become consistent in peddling wild theories and cooking tales just to create a false impression about the Adeleke administration in the minds of the Osun people.
“Osun people will note that the Osun State Government announced the receipt of the N2bn fund from FG, but to guide against the kind of experience of the abuse that featured prominently in the past, the Adeleke administration is carefully thinking through the utilization of the fund especially when it is not a free gift as Osun APC erroneously tried to paint.
“We therefore call on the Osun people to reject the antics of the APC as it is never borne out of genuine concern for their welfare but mere political pandering. The Adeleke administration understands the tough situation that the removal of fuel subsidy imposed on them and is working within available resources to cushion the impact,” the statement noted.