The Civil Societies Coalition for the Emancipation of Osun State, CSCEOS, has concluded arrangement to drag all the governorship candidates in the forthcoming governorship election in the state before anti-graft agencies such as Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, and Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, for scrutiny on financial corruption and other related matters.

It stated that its action became imperative in order to ensure that the unblemished and corrupt free personality emerged as the next governor of the state, urging the authority of the anti-graft agencies to be ready to do their constitutional responsibilities without fear or favour.

The group supported its argument with the Chapter 7 section 38 sub-section 1 of the EFCC Act, Section 6 of the ICPC act and Section 15(5) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

Addressing a press conference at the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Osogbo, on Monday, June 18, ALimi Adeniji, its chairman, alleged that Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s administration had been financially reckless, thus, leading to more than N2.3 billion monthly deductions from the federal allocation to service the state’s debt.

Adniji said: “Mindful of the fact that only an astute, earnest, diligent, frugal, humane, selfless, self-sacrificing, upright and law  abiding person can steer the ship of the state to the bank of recovery and financial buoyancy.

“Acknowledging that the only way Osun people can liberate themselves from the shackles of political subjugation and economic penury, is by wadding off the sharks and devourers from the electoral process.

“In as much as we know that it is the political parties that constitutionally possess the power to present governorship candidate out of which the electorates will pick their choices from, the CSCEOS see it as a duty to ensure that a template is set out for the kind of individuals we expect these parties to present.”

Hence, he said the CSCEOS was seeking for the ‘original Omoluabi’ to lead the state out of the financial mess it was dragged into by the current administration and set it on a path of sustainable, human, and fiscal development.

The group also threatened to drag any candidate that induced people with money to the anti-graft agencies to explain the source of his wealth, adding that the governorship candidate must show his frugality in private and public life.

According to the group, part of the pre-qualification for the candidates is to provide evidence of his past community development in the state, and be prepared to have all his past activities, businesses and transactions subjected to investigation and scrutiny.

He added: “Besides, the CSCEOS will conduct a non-party independently investigation and screening for all the governorship candidates who emerged through the party primaries and appropriately come out with our findings.”

– Jun. 19, 2018 @ 13:12 GMT |