Oyo APC, PDP trade words over N20b loan

The two major political parties in Oyo State, All Progressives Congress (APC) and People’s Democratic Party (PDP), have been throwing salvos and tantrums at each other over the N20 billion loan facility approved by the state House of Assembly on Tuesday for Governor Seyi Makinde-led administration.

The APC, through its Assistant Publicity Secretary, Ayobami Adejumo, in a statement described the development as a sour grape in the mouth of the people.
Adejumo said the development was a clear manifestation of the PDP administration’s resolve to subject the state to bankruptcy, thus bringing it down to her knees in no time while the governor and a few people within the corridors of power would have succeeded in enriching themselves and some private institutions where they have interest.

“It is no longer news that the administration of Governor Makinde has failed to sustain the legacy of prudent and accountable management of resources it inherited from Senator Abiola Ajimobi who left power about a year ago.

“The whole world was again taken aback on Tuesday when it was reported that Makinde was to get another fresh loan of N20 billion. That brought the sum total of loan facilities already taken in about 11 months to over N40 billion.

But reacting, the PDP in a statement signed by its state Publicity Secretary, Akeem Olatunji, said that the condemnation by Oyo APC in the face of harsh and unpleasant economic realities was not only embarrassing and shameful, but showed the height of deceit from a political party that has lost its connection with present economic realities and its sheer desperation to pull down Makinde’s government by all means.

According to the statement, the PDP wondered why the opposition applauded the Federal Government under its administration for embarking on series of unaccountable loans, including a recent N850 billion that the National Assembly hurriedly approved and running Nigeria’s economy on deficit and condemned Makinde’s similar move to cushion the state economy, stressing that Oyo APC was playing politics at the detriment of the people.

It stated that the APC’s statement was an attestation to its political naivety, which further exposed its ignorance of simple management of the state economy in time of economic crisis, stressing that it was such level of ignorance that led to Ajimobi/APC government plunging the state into a whopping debt burden of over N150 billion, the state’s highest debt profile since Oyo State was created with nothing to show for it.