A civil group, the Civil Societies Coalition for the Emancipation of Osun State (CSCEOS) has declared that the National Assembly has the right and power as part of its oversight functions, to probe the State Government finances under the watch of Mr. Rauf Aregbesola in line with section 62 (1&2) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

The group accused Governor Aregbesola, one Mr. Najeem Salaam and 25 other members of the State House of Assembly of being ignorant of the law and Constitutional provisions of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The group pointed out that the bailout funds were special funds released to the state by the Federal Government for the payment of backlogs of salaries and pension and gratuities at the material time.

It alleged that “the 26 members of the State House of Assembly, including its Speaker, were collaborators of Aregbesola to divert the bailout funds meant for the payment of backlogs of workers’ salaries, pension and gratuities, insisting that the State Government under Aregbesola’s watch still owed the workers and retirees for between 10 and 11 months arrears of salaries and pension due with backlogs of gratuities from 2008 to 2012.”

The group reiterated its commitment to the anti-corruption policy of the Federal Government under the watch of President Muhammadu Buhari, noting that some All Progressives Congress (APC) states, particularly, Osun is not interested in the anti-corruption posture of the Buhari administration. It also accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of conniving with Aregbesola to keep the financial crimes report on Osun State away from the public despite evidences submitted to EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other related offence Commission (ICPC) on the diversion of bailout funds by the State Government.

It also raised the alarm that Mr. Aregbesola had concluded arrangement to divert the recently released N84 billion Paris Club Excess Funds to the state by the Federal Government, insisting that “over six years of Aregbesola’s administration in the state, has become years of disaster with social pains and pangs to the people of the state.”

Addressing Journalists at the opening of the 2-day Anti-Corruption Rally organised by CSCEOS in collaboration with Forum of 2011/2012 Group of retirees, a pressure group under the Nigeria Union of Pensioners(NUP) Osun State Chapter on Wednesday, leader of the group, Comrade Adeniyi, Alimi Sulaiman, reiterated that the National Assembly has every right to probe what he called “Aregbesola’s mismanagement of funds and criminal diversion of bailout funds that accrued to the state in line with the provision of the amended 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

•Photo shows Governor Aregbesola.

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