Funke Egbemode, Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation during the administration of Gboyega Oyetola in Osun State, has described the incumbent governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke’s allegation of looting of government property as unfair and shameful.
Egbemode was reacting to the videos released in which the new government claimed that some items are missing in the Government House and the quarters of some former political appointees.
The former commissioner in a statement on Sunday, said, “Accusing a man of Oyetola’s pedigree of taking away the Government House cooker and emptying bottles of methylated spirit takes a lot from the accuser. It is beyond laughable. Perhaps the OSBC should deploy those cameras that Governor Adegboyega Oyetola approved money for them to buy to show the world the visuals of the Government House that Oyetola inherited and the tastefully renovated and elegantly furnished house it handed over to the Adeleke administration.
“It is also important to note here that the State Commandant of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, was officially informed of the looting of the official residence of Deputy Governor, Gboyega Alabi, and other quarters within the Government House by ‘unknown men.’
“In a letter with reference number SEC 43T/352, dated November 25, 2022, and signed by A.T. Komolafe on behalf of the Coordinating Director, Governor’s Office, the NSCDC was notified of the ongoing looting of government properties in different quarters following the then-Governor Adegboyega Oyetola’s departure from the premises. Mr Komolafe, in the letter, asked for armed security to stop the looting in the Government House of Okefia GRA.
“So, how exactly is Mr Oyetola guilty of this looting by ‘unknown men’ after he had vacated Government House? The apparent confusion of this new government keeps deepening with every new step it takes. If, as claimed, it has established a review committee for stock-taking, why is it launching a media trial to force its pre-conceived conclusions down the public’s throat?”
The spokesperson to the governor, Olawale Rasheed, in a reaction to Egbemode’s statement said the former commissioner’s claim was a confirmation of the alert raised after the investigation of the looting.
He said, “We want to put it on record that the Adeleke administration is not involved in lying and propaganda as a tool of governance. As a new administration, Governor Ademola Adeleke has a duty to report what he met on the ground to the people of Osun state.
“This is especially so as the Oyetola administration refused to conduct proper handing over. Running an open government entails disclosing both assets and liabilities of the state government. As much as we commend the former commissioner for owning up to the looting on behalf of his former boss, she should have stopped at that and not attack the new administration that is cleaning up the mess created by her former boss.
“Leaders must take responsibility. The extensive looting was effected under Oyetola’s watch and he should own up and not blame unknown hoodlums.”
