Ololade Adeyanju/
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has revealed how he prevented his predecessor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, from accessing N7.6 billion loan the state had obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria days to the end of his tenure.
He said Ajimobi had obtained the loan towards the end of his administration with a promise to use it to purchase agricultural equipment for the state.
Makinde said he had however applied to the Oyo State High Court for an injunction to stop Ajimobi from accessing the fund.
He said the state government had already started repaying the loan.
The governor made the disclosure via his Twitter handle, @seyimakinde, yesterday, after the Oyo State House of Assembly approved his request to access the N7.6 billion loan to upgrade farm settlements in Akufo and Eruwa areas in Ido/Ibarapa federal constituency of the state, with the aim of transforming them into farm estates.
Makinde said: “Today, we recorded another victory for our people as the Oyo State House of Assembly approved immediate access to N7.6B meant for the development of farm estates in Akufo and Eruwa farm settlements in Oyo State.
“This brings a logical conclusion to a battle that took us from the judiciary to the legislature. Before inauguration in May 2019, I had applied to the Oyo State High Court for an injunction restraining the previous admin from accessing these funds, days to the end of their tenure.
“The previous administration borrowed the money from the CBN for the purchase of “agricultural equipment” which they wanted to purchase towards the end of their tenure. Oyo State has already started repaying this loan which we have been unable to access until now.
“The farm estates will serve as pilots of our Private Public Development Partnership (PPDP) Farm Estates and will eventually generate funds to develop the other seven farm settlements in Oyo State. This is a deliberate plan aimed at creating sustainable development in the state.”
Makinde further reaffirmed his position in a statemet today by his Chief Press Secretary, Taiwo Adisa.
The governor maintained that contrary to insinuations that he was obtaining an additional N7.6 billion loan after an initial approval for N10 billion loan facility for infrastructure development, the N7.6 billion loan had already been approved by the CBN before he got to office.
He reiterated that fact that the apex bank had begun to deduct money from Oyo State’s Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations from source to repay the loan.
He said that his administration had only approached the House of Assembly to seek approval to change the purpose of the loan facility, so that it could be put to better use in developing farm estates in Eruwa and Akufo farm settlements in the state in a pilot scheme that will be used as a model for the state-wide farm estate initiative of the administration.
He further explained that limiting the scope of the project to Akufo and Eruwa Farm Settlements, which were in the same federal constituency, was to allow for effective planning, monitoring, evaluation and coordination for the pilot scheme, adding that the project would extend to other settlements across the state, as his administration will remain fair to all zones in the state.
According to him “the farm estates will serve as pilot schemes for our Private Public Development Partnership (PPDP) Farm Estates and will eventually generate funds to develop the other seven farm settlements in Oyo State. This is a deliberate plan aimed at creating sustainable development in the state”.
On the N10 billion loan earlier approved by the House of Assembly in July this year, Makinde said: “The N10 billion is still intact as it has not yet been accessed. The loan is meant for specific infrastructural development projects. Once the Due Process Office is through with the approval process of hiring contractors for the earmarked projects, we will start accessing the loan to fund these projects.
“Our administration will continue to be transparent and accountable to our people about how public funds are utilised in the state. We will ensure our people get value for any project that we execute, and also ensure that infrastructural development projects are tied to our economy.”
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