Aregbesola Calls Omisore Lair, Tax Evader

Governor Rauf Aregbesola has described the former deputy governor of the state, Iyiola Omisore, as a shameless liar who cannot be entrusted with position of authorities.

He was reacting, weekend, to some criticisms raised by Omisore of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against his administration.

Aregbesola, who spoke during a colloquium organised by Progressives e-group, a youth group, at Atlantis Hotel, Osogbo, said Omisore as chairman of Senate Committee for Appropriation for eight years had no single record of achievement to point at in the state and in particular his home town, Ile-Ife.

The governor said Omisore and his political party (PDP) were not morally qualified to criticise his government because they had been tested and failed the people of the state.

He also referred to Omisore, who was the PDP candidate in the 2014 governorship election in the state, as a tax defaulter who only paid N25,000 in 2013 as tax and had since failed to file his tax returns.

Omisore had in a statement issued by Jide Fatokun, his media aide, alleged that Aregbesola’s administration plunged the people of the state into a huge debt to the tune of N416 billion and that the 2018 budget recently presented to the House of Assembly was a product of bankruptcy and paucity of knowledge in public finance by the administration.

Omisore also queried why the Aregbesola-led administration would continue to blame the previous administrations for socio-economic challenges of the state, describing it as a reflection of administrative incompetence, adding that
Aregbesola was owing salaries and allowances of workers to the tune of N119 billion.

According to the governor, Omisore, who could not execute a single project for the state and his community throughout his eight years in the Senate, even as chairman of Senate Committee on Appropriation, has no moral justification to rubbish his achievements.

He noted that Esinmirin river in Ile-Ife, which caused death of hundreds of people, was dredged and expanded by his government to save lives, adding that Omisore only paid lip service to the several projects done when he was in office and nothing was done to complete them.

Aregbesola further revealed that the Ifewara road project awarded to Omisore by the Federal Government was abandoned and the huge sum of money paid not returned to government coffers.

He stressed that before Omisore could have the moral justification to criticise his administration, he should first of all refund all the money he was alleged to have looted in office by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Aregbesola cautioned Omisore to stop misleading the people of the state with falsehood about his government

His words: “Omisore is not qualified to rubbish my administration. For the eight years he spent in the Senate and in spite of his position, Omisore did not do anything for our people even the people of Ile-Ife where he hails from.

“Before Omisore could be entitled to condemn my government, he should go to the EFCC and complete the refund of money that he looted from the national treasury.”