SDP asks Aregbesola to declare assets publicly

Osun state chapter of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) has asked the state governor, Rauf Aregbesola to declare his assets publicly, failure which it would be forced to make public what it knows about his alleged massive wealth.

SDP demand on Aregbesola’s assets is coming on the heels of the party’s allegation that the Governor has mismanaged the state resources leading to inability of the state government to settle workers’ salaries for about six months.

The governor who spoke through one of his aides, Mr Semiu Okanlawon had however denied allegation of financial recklessness leveled against him last week by the opposition and gave details of resources accrued to the state since he took charge of governance in 2010.

But the SPD in a fresh offensive accused the governor to have accumulated stupendous wealth and threatened to publish his assets if governor Aregbesola failed to declare his assets publicly.

The party said Aregbesola’s defence on how he had spent several billions of the state funds was mere rhetoric, laughable and inconsistent going by the facts in its possession.

The state chairman of the party, Ademola Ishola in a statement said the party had conducted private investigation and discovered how the governor had allegedly acquired enormous assets in the last four years ‘’in a state where millions of indigenes are living in abject poverty’’.

Ishola in his speech during the party’s Performance Assessment meeting held in Osogbo, Osun state at the weekend to deliberate on how SDP performed in the last general election said what his party uncovered about Aregbesola’s wealth would stun Nigerians.

His words, “Our party discovered that one of the areas where fraud was being perpetrated by Aregbesola’s government was through consultants handling virtually all his projects.

“It is a shame that even if the governor wanted to buy toothpicks, it has to pass through consultants, some of who are his cronies

“Simply put, Osun is today paralyzed with all government activities at stand still. The governor has virtually left the state for us to slug it out with poverty and hunger”, he said.

The state SDP boss added that his party would not rest until everything in the state is straightened out by the All Progressives Congress (APC) led government at the federal level.

Meanwhile, the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party { PDP} has offered suggestions on how the state govenment can get out of the woods and offset the arrears of  salaries it owes workers in the state.

The party In a statement by Prince Diran Odeyemi, the party’s Director of Media and Strategy urged the government to “sell helicopter Governor Aregbesola said it procured for the state and stop alleged frivolous trips abroad.

The party, which expressed worry at the state of affairs in Osun noted that what citizens in the state are passing through runs contrary to the picture of state solvency earlier painted by the governor.

The party said, ‘’what this administration told us was that the helicopter was to be used for surveillance, but we have since discovered that the machine is only serving the travelling needs of Mr. Aregbesola and his family. This remains one draining pipe that must be blocked”.