BREAKING NEWS, Politics
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MEMBERS of the Civil Society Coalition for the Emancipation of Osun State, CSCEO, on Tuesday, January 26, 2016 in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, called on the National Assembly to intervene in the financial mess of Osun State under Governor Rauf Aregbesola.
The call was made during a peaceful demonstration held at the premises of the National Assembly by members of the CSCEO consisting about 20 civil and faith based organisations that converged at the complex as early as 7.30am.
The group submitted a petition to both Bukola Saraki, Senate president, and Yakubu Dogara, speaker, House of Representatives, in which it asked for immediate intervention to avert imminent anarchy in the state.
In the letters which was received A.M Nnaji, deputy sergeant-at-arm, on behalf of Saraki and Dogara, the group listed 16 issues bordering on alleged financial recklessness of Aregbesola which it alleged caused the state to be receiving negative allocations from the federation account.
The petition signed by Adeniyi Sulaiman and Gbenga Oyeleke, chairman and assistant secretary of the CSCEO, respectively, urged the National Assembly to support the demand of Osun citizens for a thorough and credible investigation of the deliberate and criminal mismanagement of the state’s meagre resources by the duo of Aregbesola and Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori, deputy governor, saying the situation was “threatening the peace and security of our state.”
The petition said in part: “The governance of Osun State in the last five years has been characterised by cluelessness, highhandedness, impunity, greed and wanton disregard for time-tested principles of public management and international best practices.
“We were promised banishment of poverty and hunger, peaceful co-existence and all-round development and prosperity but what do we have five years after; poverty, hunger and starvation, backwardness, social insecurity, mutual suspicion and religious disharmony, sickness and deaths.”
In the spirit of anti-corruption crusade of the All Progressives Congress, APC, led-government of President Muhammadu Buhari, the CSCEO asked the National Assembly to compel the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, to act on its petitions against the Aregbesola administration.
It warned: “Any attempt to bury them further may portray President Muhammadu Buhari and his APC led government as being insincere with their anti-corruption crusade… There should be no sacred cows in the implementation of Mr. President’s anti-corruption campaign as it is well known that charity must begin at home.”
The CSCEO also warned that it would mobilise and support the recall of any “unscrupulous rubberstamp legislators of the Osun State House of Assembly by their constituencies.” During the rally, protesters carried placards some of which read: “Osun people want FG to take Osun from Rauf Aregbesola,” “NASS, Osun Pensioners are dying,” “Aregbesola must go,” “No to Minus-Allocation” and “Aregbe has sold Osun into debt slavery,” among others.
— Jan 26, 2016 @ 18:00 GMT
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