The Oyo State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has explained that the failure of the former All Progressives Congress (APC) administration in the state in the area of infrastructural development informed the decision of the current government to obtain N100 billion bond to fund projects.
The ruling party, in a statement signed by its state publicity secretary, Engr Akeem Olatunji, and made available to journalists on Saturday, stressed that the assessment of the bond was a very strategic and commendable move, as it would open up Ibadan for real investments that would lead to economic growth.
The party said the APC under the immediate-past government left the state’s critical infrastructure in such deplorable state with humongous debt profile of over N150 billion at a time when foreign exchange was around N170 to $1 than the current situation when over N400 exchanges for $1, leaving the present administration under Governor Seyi Makinde with no choice than to proactively seek for ways to source for funds to execute its capital projects.
According to the statement, the ruling party berated the opposition party in the state for attempting to misinform unsuspecting members of the public with a derailing narrative with a view to incite the people against the government.
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The ruling party explained that if the APC government had expended all monies it got for the development of Oyo State’s critical infrastructure, the present government would not be enmeshed in such economic rot that would compel it to seek for the bond, adding that failure of APC government led to the state’s current situation.
Olatunji explained that the practice of outsourcing loans, bonds and other financial instruments to develop critical infrastructure in case of paucity of funds was not peculiar to the state, as even western nations had been engaging in such acts to execute capital projects, stressing that what such funds were tied to and the political will to deliver is what matters.
The statement described Oyo APC as an association of jesters, best at criticising others hypocritically, while hiding its monumental failures, wondering why the opposition was silent when Ogun State Assembly recently approved a whopping sum of N250 billion loan for the state governor, even when details remained shrouded in secrecy.
