Olusegun Adeyemo
Oyo State governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, on Friday, cleared the air on the controversy surrounding the approval of the sum of ₦63.4billion for the reconstruction of the state’s Government House.
Makinde, in his State of the State Address at the state House of Assembly attributed the ₦63.4billion approved for overhauling of the Government House to fluctuating exchange rate of the Naira to Dollar.
The amount, approved by the State Executive Council at the end of its weekly meeting, on Wednesday, generated controversy among stakeholders, as they declared that the estimated ₦63.4billion the reconstruction work was on the high side.
The state Commissioner for Information, Prince Oyelade, had stated in a press release after the meeting that the current state and ambience of the Government House was an embarrassment and unbefitting facility.
However, the state chairman of the the African Action Congress (AAC), Kayode Abayomi, in a release on Thursday, described the sum allocated for the reconstruction as outrageous and unreasonable.
He further stated that the reasons given were not tenable, declaring “this enormous amount is not just alarming, but raises serious concerns.”
He explained that the approved sum, perceived to be on the high side for the reconstruction work, would cover the reconstruction of buildings, roads and other ancillary facilities within the Government House and adjoining chalets.
He said: “Yesterday, I trended for the wrong reason, because people were saying we want to spend ₦63 Billion to renovate the Government House.
Speaking on the state’s debt profile, the governor said the debt inherited from the administration of the late Governor Abiola Ajimobi has ballooned from ₦70 Billion when he came into office in 2019 to ₦320 Billion owing largely to the current state of the naira to a dollar.
“Before I came into office, the previous administration took a loan of $200 Million from the World Bank for the Ibadan Urban Flood Management Project (IUFMP).
“As of the time I came in on May 29, 2019, that dollar-denominated loan was in the book of Oyo State as ₦70 Billion, because a dollar to a Naira was around ₦350.
“This administration was supposed to spend $50 Million to complete the projects but we did not spend the amount. We honoured all the commitments made by the previous administration, and returned $18 Million to the World Bank, which we didn’t spend.
“That is how we have managed the finances prudently in Oyo State. But that is not even where I am going.
“My point is, in 2019 in the Oyo State books, ₦70 Billion was what Oyo State owed.
“Fast-forward to today, the IUFMP project is completed without adding one inch of drainage to the project. But simply by the exchange rate movement, Oyo State today owes ₦320 Billion.
“This is because the ₦70 Billion calculated as ₦350 to one dollar in 2019 is now the same amount, but it is now calculated at about ₦1,540 to the dollar. That is our reality.
“We have now moved from paying ₦700 Million on the IUFMP loan when I came in, to now paying ₦3 Billion to service that loan monthly now.
“Can we sleep when it is raining? Yes, because the IUFMP has basically tamed the issue of erosion. We have an Advanced Warning System installed in that place.
“But, my point is, to manage our exchange rate is not for me to determine in Oyo State. It is on the exclusive list. But whatever it is, we will do what is in the best interest of our state.
