The opposition All Progressives Congress in Oyo State has been warned to desist from making inflammatory statements about the Peoples Democratic Party administration of Governor Seyi Makinde.
An organization known as Ibadan Advancement Group in a press release on Friday made the call while making a particular reference to the criticism by the opposition party towards the planned borrowing of N20 billion by the Makinde administration to finance specific infrastructure development in Oyo State.
President of Ibadan Advancement Group, Dr. Adebisi Alebiosu noted that, “it is very irritating that the APC is seeking to befuddle the public about the patriotic objective of the Engineer Seyi Makinde’s administration to pick Oyo State from the rubbles that the immediate past administration left it and create a fresh start.”
He said further that, “contrary to the false claim by the opposition, it was actually the APC administration that threw Oyo State in the throes of massive debt burden without anything tangible to show for it.
According to him, “the records of Oyo State debt profile is a public document which is readily available at the Debt Management Office. From information on that record, the total debt package of Oyo State in 2011 when the APC took over was N4.8 billion. That was what the preceding PDP government left behind before they came in to ruin the whole system.
“Sadly, between 2011 and 2019, our state’s debt profile had ballooned to an astronomical height of N99.4 billion in internal debt, while the external debt portfolio rose to One Hundred and Thirty Seven Million Dollars. Such was the bastardy that the APC made of Oyo State debt portfolio!
“Put into context that the period between 2011 and 2015 was an era of high foreign exchange earnings by the federal government and there was heavy pile of Excess Crude reimbursements by the federal government to state governments. Yet, our friends who are shedding crocodile tears today on a modest loan proposal, went overdrive in debt consumption without any tangible infrastructure investment to show for it.
“Aside, the immediate past administration of APC was terribly notorious for irregularities in payment of workers’ salaries, while parents were being arm twisted to pay for their wards’ tuition fees in the state’s public schools.
“And here is a Makinde administration which is battling with the grim reality of a cash crunch, but yet able to make substantial investments in public infrastructure, pay workers their dues without delay and even goes ahead to declare a policy of free and qualitative education for pupils in the state’s primary and secondary schools.
“We are all living witnesses to the charade the immediate former government made of the Lodoke Akintola University of Technology in Ogbomosho. Since the coming of Makinde administration, have students not returned to their classrooms?
“We are not saying that the opposition should not criticize the incumbent government. But next time, the APC should be reminded that the long shadows of its grey years of bad governance is still at full cast in people’s mind.
“We, therefore, want to pass a warning to the APC that if, and when they try again to criticize the Makinde administration, they should endeavour to compare the records of performance by this administration with their own record, and safe themselves the embarrassment drawing the people’s ire.”
