By Editor
False accusations against CoS will not stop prosecution of indicted APC chieftains - Adeleke's Spokesperson
The All Progressives Congress (APC), Osun, has called on Governor Ademola Adeleke to hand over his Chief of Staff, Alhaji Kazeem Akinleye, to the Code of Conduct Bureau and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for investigation over his alleged involvement in a N297 million Osun State University (UNIOSUN) Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) contract scam.
The APC, in a statement signed over weekend by the Director of Media and Information, Chief Kola Olabisi, described the justification of the governor as mere diversion meant to confuse the right-thinking members of the society.
According to the statement, "Akinleye was accused of using his office and affinity to corner N297 million UNIOSUN TETFUND contract for his company, Akinsas Interbiz Limited.
"In a swift defence rationalizing the morally repugnant transaction, Governor Adeleke painted the allegation as 'malicious, falsehood (sic) and an attempt to cause public disorder.
"In view of the foregoing, we state that such a reckless stance of the governor, to the effect that an innocuous demand for accountability and probity from a public officer is seditious and capable of causing 'public disorder,' is not only distasteful but also unpatriotic and pedestrian.
"The allegation against Mr Akinleye is weighty and so grievous that a decent and responsible governor would not wait to be prodded before he takes action of handing such an embattled Chief of Staff over to the Code of Conduct Bureau or Independent Corrupt Practices & Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for proper investigation.
"The governor's explanation that Akinleye is not culpable because he is not a member of the UNIOSUN Governing Council or a member of the board of directors of TETFUND is spurious just as it is vacuous.
"Does it mean the governor himself can deploy the instrumentality of his office to curry favour or contract for his company in the state-owned institutions under the pretext that he resigned his directorship on assumption of office?
"The drafters of the law did not envisage that a public officer would resign his or her interest in a company only for such a business entity to land mouth-watering contracts in the state where the founder of the company is a key policy maker and administrator.
"While we hold that Akinkas Interbiz Limited is at liberty to bid for contracts in any public institutions in the country, despite the current status of its founder, it becomes inappropriate if such business activities include hustling for contracts in state-owned institutions in Osun, where Mr Kazeem Akinleye is the Alpha and Omega and the de facto governor.
"We appeal to the discerning members of the public, particularly members of the civil liberty organisations in Osun State, to press it on Governor Adeleke, if he is not an accessory to the emerging scandal, to, without further delay, hand Akinleye over to the Code of Conduct Bureau for probing and necessary prosecution.
Reacting, the Spokesperson to the Governor, Olawale Rasheed, denied the allegations, stating that Akinleye has not violated any provisions of the Code of Conduct, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, or ICPC.
He added that Akinleye had ceased to be a director of the company in question before his appointment as Chief of Staff and therefore cannot be held accountable for its business operations.
According to him, "The diversionary accusation against Chief of Staff, Hon Kazeem Akinkeye will not stop the imminent prosecution of many former top officials of the Oyetola administration over infractions in contract handling in the last government.
"The state APC is dead scared of the conclusions of the forensic investigation of the state contract review committee and the white paper implementation committee headed by Hon Kolapo Alimi which evidentially indicted many former top officials of the last government
"The state APC is probably aware that the details of the many contract frauds , the companies used in perpetrating those fraudulent schemes and their directors are already in possession of the implementation committee which is now set to move to stage of prosecution.
"The detailed materials available to the committee and the reality that those top officials indicted cannot escape the long arms of the law motivated the failed strategy of the APC to malign top administration officials including the Chief of Staff, Hon Kazeem Akinleye.
"Unknown to the opposition, the implementation committee has secured incontrovertible evidence of contract scam against former state officials under the last government and no amount of fake news will stop the imminent prosecution to retrieve looted state resources.
"The contacts in questions cover roads and the $20 million dollar health centers rehabilitation projects for which so many infractions were uncovered from serial breach of procurement process to usage of several companies on which Oyetola's top officials were directors.
"The implementation committee under a deep sighted Barrister, Kolapo Alimi will soon swing into action to enforce accountability on behalf of Osun people from those who actually abused their office to loot state resources.
"We posit that no amount of falsehood, baseless allegations and outright fake news will deter the administration from pursuing public interest to a logical conclusion as all material evidence confirm that Hon Akinleye has not violated any provisions of the Code of Conduct, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the ICPC or any other extant laws for that matter.
"As a public officer, the Chief of Staff has not deployed his office to, in whatever ways, favor himself especially as he is not a member of the governing board of Osun State University nor a member of the board of directors of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND).
"Specifically too, Hon Akinleye had effectively ceased to be a director of the mentioned company ever before his appointment as the Chief of Staff and so cannot in any way be held accountable for the business operations of the said company.
"The Chief of Staff has never sat at any meeting or board deliberation where such a contract was determined and is therefore by all accounts not in breach of any provisions of any subsisting laws of the land.
"While urging the public to discountenance the failed men of yesterday, we restate the commitment of the administration to upholding and enforcing due process, best practices and procurement laws" the statement added.
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