Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has promised to recover the funds stolen during the Abiola Ajimobi-led administration.
According to Naija News, the governor gave the promise during a radio programme on Splash FM on Saturday in Ibadan, the state capital.
In a statement released by his spokesman, Taiwo Adisa, the governor claimed that his late predecessor and his cronies mismanaged the Paris Club refund and awarded contracts to a ghost company called Chinese Global.
Makinde disclosed that he had written a letter to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe the company used to loot the state treasury.
The governor added that the Oyo State Road Maintenance Agency (OYSROMA) was used to transfer the funds to the account of the ghost company.
He said: “Let me give you an example – when I came in, I looked at how some monies were spent and I believed it was the Paris Club refund they moved, which was about N7bn to N8bn, to Oyo State Road Maintenance Agency.
“This is an agency that operates normally on a budget of about N45m every month but this money came in around November 2017, and in early 2018, they started spending the money.
“When we came in, we discovered they finished spending the money on nothing within one year. They stole the money and I know those behind the stealing and I am after them right now. There is a company called Chinese Global. They said they are Chinese people but we know the people behind it. The company has been shut down as we speak.”
Makinde said the money stolen was between N12bn and N15bn and that those who stole the money were not Chinese but people from Oyo State.
He added, “OYSROMA GM said the company supplied asphalt and I said if the company did, was the asphalt used to repair roads without employing new people and giving out contracts? He said the money was moved from OYSROMA to Chinese Global and two other companies without any supply from the companies.
“As a result of that, I wrote to the EFCC and reported the matter about what we are facing here. Chinese Global is also the company they awarded the Bembo-Apata Road contract to, and the same company got the Ido-Eruwa project.
“But I said to them, ‘guys, you have Oyo State money with you. Go ahead and use the money to finish up the roads and they promised to do it.’ As soon as former Governor Abiola Ajimobi passed on, they reneged on all those projects. And I said, fine. As long as you have Oyo State money with you, I will get it back for our state.”
“We know them, and very soon, wherever they have investment or property in the world, I will go after them and collect this money for our state. Those who stole the money are the members of the APC who were in the government then.”
