Aregbesola, Omisore in war of words

Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State and his opponent in the 2014 governordhip election, Senator Iyiola Omisore, on Friday, exchanged hot words on who between them and their parties was responsible for the woes of the people of the State.

Aregbesola in a statement took on Omisore and the PDP, saying they lacked moral right to fault his administration’s achievements.

He contended that the legacies that he would be leaving behind in the state surpassed what previous administrations had done, most especially, the seven and a half years of the PDP which he described as a disaster.

In a press statement issued by Aregbesola’s media adviser, Mr Sola Fasure, the governor was quoted to have made the comment while addressing a gathering during a New Year party organised by the leadership of Yoruba Patriots Movement (YPM) in Ila-Orangun in Ila Local Government Area of the state.

According to the statement, “under Aregbesola’s watch in the last seven years, Osun has witnessed tremendous turnarounds, compared to what he met on ground on assumption of office seven years ago. It is unfortunate that a former Chairman Senate Committee on Appropriation could be so ignorant on budget fundamental”.

Apparently reacting to a statement credited to Omisore that his administration had failed the people of the state, the governor berated Omisore for “being unabashed in spite of the obvious gross incompetence of his party that rendered Osun to deplorable condition,” adding that “it is unfortunate that a questionable personality like him could still go ahead to fault a government that had revived the already comatose system”.

But, Omisore, who was the chairman of Senate Committee on Appropation insisted that “Aregbesola has ruined the economy of Osun and also torn into shreds other social fabrics of the state through bad governance and dearth of understanding on human and resources management.”

In a release forwarded to Saturday Tribune by his media aide, Dr Jide Fatokun, Omisore stated that “our attention has been drawn to the flapping hands of a government drowning in its own ineptitude. The examination and feasibility and credibility of public sector budget are matters for everyone”.

It reads, “Senator Iyiola Omisore, former deputy governor of Osun firmly asserts that the current Osun State budget is not only an indication of incompetence and bankruptcy, but also reflects absolute lack of knowledge of public financing and the appropriation process.

“It remains very sad that after almost eight years of Rauf Aregbesola-led APC government, its leadership still whines in its incompetent game of blaming past administrations, a glaring sign of inability to respond to the issues of budget raised by Omisore and the PDP. In seven years, the APC government has accrued a collosal debt of N416 billion. Uncompleted projects of over N500 billion, N119 billion salaries and wages of workers and retirees in addition to inflated airport and project scam.

“The state itself had admitted its inability to pay salaries, remains unaccountable for the Paris Club refund. PDP will rescue Osun State from APC charlatans. We shall engage competent and visionary leadership that will take informed decisions to restore the state’s economy,” he said.