The Olatunde Runsewe family of Ibadan, who are the owners of Dutum Group of Companies, has debunked rumours that they have any illicit relationship with the Governor of Ondo State, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), adding that they are only involved in legitimate business transactions with the state.
The company in a statement signed by its Managing Director, Temitope Runsewe, the scion of the Olatunde Runsewe dynasty, stated that a lie repeatedly told may be considered truth, if not conscientiously and thoroughly thrashed.
According to him, the virulent misinformation mercilessly being spread across the blogs by political actors against the esteemed Runsewe family by those against the re-election bid of Governor Akeredolu without respect for truth or decency had been ignored since, but the family decided to address the latest fallacies and misleading notions.
“Therefore, for the sake of the unsuspecting members of the public who may have been hoodwinked by the recent falsehood against our revered family, we consider it sacrosanct and imperative to release this rebuttal to set the record straight. The Dutum Group of Companies was established in 1989 by our patriarch, Olatunde Runsewe, with a vision to be one of the best five indigenous construction companies in Nigeria.
“As a family that values good name above gold and riches, we confirm that our corporate brand, the Dutum Company Limited, has executed, and still executing some contracts for the government of Ondo State. We state clearly, too, without going into details, that Dutum Group of Companies had been executing contracts for Ondo State Government long before Akeredolu became Governor in February 2017.
“On the Ile Oluji Township Road Contract, we will like to state very clearly that the contract was awarded for the sum of N800 million, and not N6.8 billion erroneously being brandished on the internet by some unscrupulous persons. Therefore, there is no N25 billion contract being executed by Dutum Construction anywhere in Ondo State.
“The Ile Oluji road construction is 91 per cent completed with N630 million paid to our firm thus far. We also want to make it known that out of about 30 road constructions ongoing in Ondo State, only the Ile Oluji township road was awarded to Dutum Company Limited and we stand to be corrected.”
The company further debunked the allegation that Streford Limited, owned by Olakunle was awarded the contract to renovate the Governor’s Office and Government House in Alagbaka, Akure, the state capital, adding that, “we want to say without any form of contradiction that the claim was blatant mendacity. Streford was never awarded any contract for the renovation of government house neither was the firm involved in any installation of an elevator in Alagbaka.
“We state explicitly that the said elevator, according to our findings, is a brand new one and no renovation and maintenance would be needed on it for now, thus, the monthly payment of N10million to Olakunle is a lie from the pit of hell. Olakunle is not involved in any installation of lift neither has he been involved in any maintenance of lift in Alagbaka.
“As a family with impeccable integrity, we do not compromise quality in all our dealings. Our corporate brand, Dutum Group of Companies is known for quality and excellent service delivery which has made us to be trailblazing for more than three decades in the construction industry. We have executed jobs for the federal and many state governments and too numerous to mention private organizations in Nigeria.
“We, however, urge the general public to ignore all the lies being peddled by political urchins and meddlesome interlopers paid to destroy our heard-earned integrity for pecuniary gains. Our patriarch, Olatunde Runsewe, is renowned worldwide for honesty and sincerity of purpose, virtues he impacted in all his children. We say with all sense of responsibility that our patriarch will never indulge in any acts capable of tarnishing his image.”
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