Aregbesola inflated airport contract by N11.5bn, says PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party has accused Governor Rauf Aregbesola of inflating the contract sum of the Moshood Abiola International Airport, Ido Osun, from N4.5bn to N15.5bn.

The Director of Media and Strategy of the PDP in the state, Mr. Diran Odeyemi, said this in a statement in Osogbo on Sunday.

The opposition party accused the governor of jerking up the contract sum in order to allegedly embezzle the bailout loan the state got from the Central Bank of Nigeria while workers in the employ of the state were languishing as a result of unpaid salaries.

The PDP called on President Muhammadu Buhari to beam its searchlight on the financial activities in Osun State, especially the airport project.

The statement partly read, “We are aware that Governor Aregbesola on the 8th of January this year through an award letter with reference number SP/S96/1/vi/348 re-awarded the airport   contract to the same contractor and a payment of N472m was paid as take off.

“The same company had earlier been paid N2.7bn for the same project without any serious work done on the project.

“We are calling on the President and anti-graft agencies to send a secret team to the site of the so-called Moshood Abiola International Airport, Ido Osun, to confirm what the government and the Air force company had done with the N2.7bn taken from the purse of the state on the 14th of December 2012.

“Of the amount, N2.5bn was sourced as a loan from Sterling Bank repayable monthly at N100m from Sure-P funds. That loan is now part of the N88bn restructured for the state by the Central Bank for repayment till the year 2034.

“The latest review of the contract is a brazen attempt to misappropriate funds, including the bailout loan meant to pay hungry civil servants, lecturers and medical doctors.”

The PDP accused the governor of running the affairs of the state as a sole administrator, adding that the reawarding the contract was in clear violation of the Public Procurement Act.

The Consultant on Information to Osun State Government, Mr. Sunday Akere, when contacted on the telephone said he was at a very noisy place.

Although the noise could be heard at the background, Akere had yet to respond to the text sent to him on the matter as of the time of filing this report.