The immediate past governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi and his commissioners went away with many government vehicles and sold off a lot more for pittance, especially new vehicles bought at the end of 2018 and early this year.
Bisi Ilaka, Chief of Staff to Governor Seyi Makinde, made the revelation while fielding questions from journalists during an interview monitored on Fresh FM in Ibadan, at the weekend.
Ilaka explained that Makinde, his deputy and himself had been riding in their personal vehicles since assumption of office because there were no vehicles to work with.
Ilaka, who was asked to confirm report of 11 missing government vehicles, said the actual number of vehicles former Governor Ajimobi and his aides went away with would be ascertained at the conclusion of forensic verification of government assets.
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“We have only been in government for barely a week and a half. But from what we have seen so far, the scale of larceny by the last government is unprecedented. Everybody knows that getting cars is not the problem of the immediate past governor. Why did he take away government vehicles?
“It is not limited to him. His commissioners have gone away with vehicles, same as the heads of parastatals. There are no vehicles there and a lot of these cars were bought by the end of 2018 and early this year.
“We have a responsibility to the people of the state. We need to protect the resources of the state. If we are to replace these vehicles, it will be at a cost to the state. Why did they do this?
In a text message to one of the journalists while the programme was going on, the Special Adviser on Media to the former governor, Mr Bolaji Tunji, challenged Ilaka to name those who bolted with their official vehicles and stop playing politics with governance.
“Let them list the names of people who made away with official vehicles. Everything done by the Ajimobi government was done legally. Ajimobi insisted on following due process on sensitive matters. He should get appropriate advice before saying what he does not have information about. This seems to be the hallmark of their administration,” Ajimobi’s aide said. [PUNCH]
