A chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party and immediate past State Secretary of the party in Ekiti State, Mrs Ogun Funmilayo Theresa has called on Governor Biodun Oyebanji to explain to Ekiti citizens his position on the allegation that he has spent over N8 billion excess fund outside approval on the ongoing Ekiti State International Agro Allied Airport.
A story published in an online medium : Sahara reports had accused the governor of spending over N8 billion extra budgetary fund on the airport, beyond the financial limit and approval granted by the State House of Assembly.
On Friday, Mrs Funmi Ogun urged the Governor Oyebanji to come clean on the matter through a statement released by her Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Oladimeji Atenibiaje.
The PDP former Secretary expressed regret about how such humongous amount had been spent in excess without remarkable progress made on the project.
With this, Mrs Funmi Ogun claimed that it is now clear that the project has become a conduit pipe to siphon the state and empty the treasury and make Ekiti bleeds profusely.
The former Works Commissioner told the governor to tell the people of the state why the project has not started operation in spite of the huge investment committed to the project.
She urged Ekiti State House of Assembly to investigate the allegation very dispassionately and get to the root of the matter. “The House of Assembly must investigate this allegation without further delay. People can’t in the name of being in positions of authorities misapply public funds. What really shocked our people is the fact that the project has not been operational up till today.
“The State House of Assembly has the statutory and constitutional obligations of approving budgetary provisions for the executive. It is trite that any money spend on any project outside what was budgeted is regarded as a misappropriation of funds that carries legal sanctions. Let the assembly go deeper into this matter.
“I have heard the governor justifying Ekiti airport and the money spent, but let him come out fairly and tell the citizens about what is delaying the operation of the airport. The public deserves to know”, said Mrs Funmi Ogun.
On the sudden holiday declared for the students of Ayo Fasanmi Model School over dilapidated structures that constitute danger to students, Mrs Funmi Ogun told the governor to probe the contractor that handled the project and apply appropriate discipline where necessary.
The PDP leader stated that reckless spending of the public funds through bad execution of projects constitutes serious infraction that should be handled with all the seriousness it requires.
“It is a great sadness that students are made to stay at home when their peers are in school. How are they going to make up for the time lost? The government must take serious action to punish those connected to send a signal that public money is not free”.