By David Olalekan
The Governor of Ogun State, Mr. Ibikunle Amosus has refused to grant the transition committee set up by the incoming governor, Mr. Dapo Abiodun, access to some state-owned facilities for inspection.
In a letter, a copy of which was obtained by INSIDER last night (Thursday), the Secretary to the State Government, Taiwo Adeoluwa, said the facilities were being used by the government and therefore not available for inspection the transition team.
The letter by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), we gathered, was a response to an earlier request by the transition committee chaired by the deputy governor-elect, Noimot Salako-Oyedele, requesting access to a number of key government facilities.
The SSG’s letter dated May 8, 2019, read, “I wish to restate that his excellency, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has directed that your committee shall be offered full cooperation and assistance in the discharge of your mandate.
“The challenge, however, appears to be that most of the facilities indicated in your text message – the Valley View Auditorium, the Presidential Lodge, Mitros, June 12 Cultural Centre, Stadium – are currently being used for the routine business of governance and therefore may not be available until about a few days to the May 29 inauguration as we had duly notified during our inaugural joint meeting of Monday, April 29, 2019″.
The SSG emphasized in his letter that the government took the inevitable decision to deny access owing to the ongoing preparation to receive President Muhammadu Buhari on a working visit to the State towards the end of May for the commissioning of projects in commemoration of Amosun’s end of tenure.
“Understandably, all hands are on the deck and most of the named state facilities will be in use. During the month of Ramadan, the state organises and engages in a number of daily programmes, culminating in the state’s special Iftar for which we routinely use many of the named facilities”, the SSG concluded.
However, the Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress(APC) Caretaker Committee in the State, Mr Tunde Oladunjoye, seemed not to agree with the excuses advanced by the Amosun government, as he alleged that the transition committee set up by the governor has not been cooperating with the team of the Governor-Elect.