LAGOS MARCH 16TH (URHOBOTOAY)-The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State has attacked the state governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, over his quest to cut down the number of capital projects on the excuse of non-availability of funds purportedly caused by coronavirus.
The opposition described the excuse as “bogus and unacceptable to the people.”
In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Sylvester Imonina, the APC faulted Okowa administration’s misplaced priorities at the detriment of the masses.
”It is a popular fact that in recent months, the governor appointed thousands of political aides, largely on political patronage. Painfully, majority of the appointed Special Advisers, Special Assistants and/or political aides do not add value to the social and economic development of the state”, the APC stated.
The statement read in part, “Information available to APC and the general public is that the internally generated revenue of Delta State on a monthly basis is in the neighborhood of N13bn. On the other hand, the unaccounted/unremitted monies collected by friends and cronies of the state government as political settlement from business owners in Delta State are in billions of Naira.”
The Delta APC queried rhetorically, “Is it not morally wrong to use Delta monies to pay political aides who add no value to the governance of Delta State? Is it not morally wrong to cut down capital projects that touch the lives of Deltans directly and indirectly? Apart from federal allocations and other revenues, what is the state government doing with internally generated revenue?”
The party then challenged Okowa to “cut down his cost of governance, foisted on Deltans through redundant political aides.
“Also, we challenge the state government to be more accountable in allocation of resources of the state,” the statement added.
Punch