The Osun state chapter of the All Progressives Congress(APC) has berated Governor Ademola Adeleke for deliberately bungling the multi-billion naira Ilesa Water Project, describing his current eye-service to regularize the project as fathom and deceit designed to save face from the embarrassment caused by his poor education, jealousy, political pettiness, vindictiveness, hatred for the Ijesa people and above all, lack of patriotism.
Before Adeleke, like a bull in the China shop, mindlessly ordered for stoppage of work on the water project last December, his predecessor, His Excellency, former state Governor Adegboyega Oyetola CON, now Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, had completed the reticulation component and laying of water pipes, setting a stage for the final component of the work, which is water treatment.
Until few days ago when they began to run helter skelter to save the day, Governor Adeleke and his lousy yes-men had intentionally and practically ignored all entreaties from the sons and daughters of Ijesaland to get the project back to track so that their dream of getting potable and healthy water to drink in their lifetime would come to reality.
Commenting on the development, the Osun State chairman of the APC, Sooko Tajudeen Lawal, in a statement issued by the party’s Director of Media and Information, Chief Kola Olabisi, today, questioned the soundness of the thought-process of the state governor and his advisers, pondering why Adeleke would choose to punish a whole generation of Ijesa because their elites gave unwavering support to the government of ex-Governor Oyetola, which prioritized the welfare of Ijesa people above mundane and reckless politics.
According to Lawal: “It is painful that the clumsy government of Senator Adeleke, having wasted almost one year without accessing the balance of $37.9 million Islamic Development Bank(IDB) loan meant for the completion of the water project, is now belatedly begging profusely, claiming to be ramping up actions to extend the life span of the Ilesa water financing agreement with the bank which is due for closure in few days’ time.”
Lawal cautioned that unless men of good intention at the federal level were mobilized to remedy the situation, Osun State might suffer a double jeopardy because the project might not only suffer misfortune as it did 30 years ago when the fund meant for it was brazenly converted for personal use, Osun State could equally run into further financial headache on account of court case instituted against it by the project contractor, who is seeking compensation for a breach of contract.
“The Osun APC is using this medium to appeal to all Nigerians of means and clouts to come to our aid by saving the state from the current logjam inflicted on us by the confused and tactless Governor Adeleke and his coterie of political jesters.
“One, we need the Islamic Development Bank, the financing bank, to extend the financing agreement on Ilesa Water Project beyond December 2023.
“Two, the project contractor should be placated to settle out-of-court as being requested by the state government so that the state does not lose money and suffer unduly over the indiscretion and lack of seriousness of some political mal-administrators”, Lawal pleaded.
