Account For 5,000 Bags Of Rice Received From Tinubu, Osun PDP Challenges APC
THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State has challenged the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to account for 5,000 bags of rice it collected from President Bola Tinubu in December 2023.
This was as the ruling party debunked the reports of hoarding palliative foodstuffs.
The PDP had accused the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola, of diverting palliative rice meant for the people of the state during the just concluded festive season.
Oyetola was said to have allegedly shared the rice with members of his IleriOluwa group of the APC in the state.
It would be recalled that the APC had earlier accused the state governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, of refusing to distribute bags of rice obtained from the Federal Government as palliatives to cushion the impact of the elimination of fuel subsidy on the people.
Responding to what it called defamatory publications by the opposition, the PDP, in a statement by its Chairman, Hon. Sunday Bisi, on Wednesday, accused the APC of diverting Christmas rice meant for the state.
The PDP alleged that only 2000 out of 5000 bags of rice, were distributed by the opposition party.
It is the APC that has a record of hoarding palliative foodstuffs, as it happened during the COVID-19 lockdown, said the PDP.
The statement reads partly: “We challenge the APC to account for the Christmas rice as the party has remained mute since the scandal broke out in December 2023.
“The APC government had, while in office, hoarded COVID-19 palliatives until members of the public broke into the warehouses to claim the foodstuff. The APC repeated the infamous record, as the Christmas scandal is still on the APC to explain.
“APC has a record of hoarding palliative foodstuffs. It happened when it was in power, and now that it is in opposition, it also diverted Christmas rice. PDP is not a palliative thieving party like APC.”
Speaking on the amount Osun gets as a monthly allocation from the Federal Government, the PDP said the funds are properly put into use by Adeleke’s government.
The statement reads further: “We submitted that allocations to the state and local governments are never hidden and funds are judiciously allocated for local and state projects.
“There are many ongoing local projects; there are also local government-state projects under implementation. State projects are also ongoing and unabated. The PDP government runs an open and transparent government.
“While denying the state has received over N100 billion as alleged by the APC, the PDP defended the two-pronged approach of Governor Adeleke to the governance of Osun state which involved infrastructure upgrades and pro-people and worker support policies and programmes.
“APC left Osun State with run-down infrastructure. The infra deficit for Osun was almost 90 percent. How do we grow the economy, alleviate poverty, and create jobs without addressing the infrastructure deficit?”
Sodiq Yusuf is a trained media practitioner and journalist with considerable years of experience in print, broadcast, and digital journalism. His interests cover a wide range of causes in politics, governance, sports, community development, and good governance.
