The Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) has censured Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, over the allegation that saboteurs are responsible for the incessant breakdown of the Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) which were allotted to provide security back-up in the Ijebu area of the state.
Mr. Amosun, who made this allegation in Ogbere in the Ijebu East Local Government Area, spoke in reaction to the recent panic decision by managements of banks in the Ijebu Ode and Ijebu Igbo areas, which made them to close shops for some days.
The development was said to have been caused by the discovery that the APCs providing security back-ups in the areas had developed mechanical faults, and had been moved.
Amosun insisted that immediately the APCs which broke down in the Ijebu Ode and Ijebu Igbo area were moved to other locations, they began to work.
Reacting to the allegation of sabotage, the Coalition through its Executive Chairman, Mr. Debo Adeniran, berated the governor for putting up such puerile defence for his administration’s ineffectiveness.
He said, “It is absurd that a whole governor of a state could claim that some powers are sabotaging the armoured vehicles it procured three years ago. It is on record that our Coalition, in reaction to a newspaper report, wrote to the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offence Commission (ICPC) in April 2013 asking the anti-graft agency to probe the real cost of the said Armoured Personnel Carriers.
Our concern was born out of the suspicions raised in some quarters that the tanks were procured at a far higher price than the market value.
Ogun State governor had claimed that the APC was sold for between N85 million and N100 million whereas findings from the same manufacturers whom the Ogun State government procured the vehicles from, showed that the new model of the said armoured vehicles was N46.61million whereas the older model went for N26.38million.
It is preposterous that the government could allege sabotage when it actually bought inferior tanks at a cut-throat price. The crop of people in government should learn to own up to their mistakes instead of blaming them on some unimaginary forces.”
The anti-corruption crusader however called on the ICPC to make public the report of its findings on the procurement of the armoured tanks and prosecute whosoever is found to have abused his position.
