Mimiko described Ekungba's allegations as a figment of his imagination, saying it is typical of APC members, who he said are trying hard to discredit his administration
A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Jamiu Ekungba, has accused Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko of misappropriating about N400 billion federal allocations.
He said in the last seven and a half years, there is nothing to show for the allocations accrued to the state.
Ekungba stated this in a statement issued on Wednesday, July 20.
“Ondo
State has, in the last seven and a half years, collected over N600bn
from the federation account but we cannot, in all sincerity, see
tangible development that is reflective of the huge receipts,” he said.
In
reaction, Mimiko described Ekungba's allegation as a figment of his
imagination, saying it is typical of APC members, who he said are trying
hard to discredit his administration.
Speaking through his Commissioner for Information, Mr. Kayode Akinmade, Mimiko said: “It
has become the stock-in-trade for APC politicians to want to pull
Governor Mimiko down by all means. This is one of their outbursts to
carry out their plans but we are undaunted.
“We
know he has never been in government, so, he does not know how a
government is run. We have very clean financial records that are audited
and published yearly and we have over 700 projects that have been
completed and delivered to our people. Their plan to run our governor
down will fail.”
Ekungba, who is eyeing the
Ondo governorship seat, said he has records that that the State has
received over N600 billion from the Federal Government under Mimiko's
administration.
He said: "They claimed that
they are paying N4bn as monthly wage bill. In 84 months that they are
going to be in office, the total wage would have cost N336bn.
“That
gives us a balance of N264bn. Add that to what would have been received
in forms of loans, bonds, Internal Generated Revenue and other sources,
you are going to have something in the region of N400bn.
“Of
course, the government still has about seven months to stay in office
to collect more money even as it is owing workers about six-month salary
arrears. The economy of the state is in deep trouble because of the
profligacy of a governor that met over N36bn in the coffers at his
inauguration.”
Ekungba further said Mimiko
lacks genuine commitment to the welfare of the Ondo people, saying he
squandered many opportunities to develop the state.
“A
case in point is the relocation of the multi-billion naira Dangote
Refinery from Ondo to Lagos. The project, which is coming on stream very
soon with all the socio-economic benefits, was initially located in
Ondo, but the Mimiko administration allowed that great project to slip
away,” he said.
The allegations and
counter-allegations are coming ahead of the Ondo State governorship
election, which holds on November 26, 2016.