Oyo govt recovers vehicles carted by former aides from mechanic workshops, roadsides

A total of 14 vehicles carted away by officials of the immediate past administration led by Governor Abiola Ajimobi have so far been recovered from mechanic workshops, roadsides across the state.

Chief Press Secretary to Governor Seyi Makinde, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, who made this known on Thursday, in a conversation with TribuneOnine, said 13 out the 14 vehicles recovered were in a non-functional state.

According to Adisa, most of the vehicles had suffered all sorts of vandalism with some without an engine, others without battery and could only be towed to the transport pool of the government house.

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Giving more details on the recovery, Adisa said only a few were voluntarily returned, with the former aides volunteering to leave the vehicle at certain spots when they were called over the phone.

Noting that several cars were purchased for Ministries, Departments and Agencies and the government house within the past one year, Adisa said officials of the state government and security agencies would continue to comb the state for other vehicles.

“So far, we have recovered 14 vehicles. It is not all that was returned by the people that carted them away as only a handful were voluntarily returned.

“Many of them were traced to mechanic workshops and seized there by officials of the state and security agencies.

“One Hilux which was the 14th recovered was sited around Agodi area by officials of the transport pool of the state. They sited the vehicle and quickly alerted security personnel who moved to site and did not see any driver beside the vehicle as well as the key but could identify it by its chassis number and other data. They quickly towed the vehicle to the transport pool of the government house.

“Of the 14 recovered, only one that was towed to the government house some days back can be said to be in a fairly good condition.

“The other ones have been vandalized; some without an engine, some without battery, and all manner of vandalism has taken place.

“For some, the government officials traced the data to their records and called them to release the vehicle in their custody and that security personnel will tracing the vehicle to their residence soon. They will now call back telling the official to take the vehicle at a certain place.

“The number of agencies discovered to have bought vehicles in the past year and can be said to be brand new, are nowhere to be found. Enquiries are ongoing as to what led to the disappearance of those vehicles. We are talking about vehicles carted away from MDAs and government house,” Adisa said.