Hijacked LG Funds Have Slowed Down Capital Projects In Osun, Says Adeleke

Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has blamed the delay in some of the projects embarked upon by the state government on the hijacked Osun local government funds.

Adeleke, who spoke in Osogbo at a meeting of key state officials involved in the implementation of mega projects in the state, explained that the state had to shoulder the responsibility of paying local government teachers, health workers, pensioners and others that ought to be the responsibility of local government for more than one year.

The spokesperson for  the governor, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, stated that the governor, however, described the field reports on the projects as “heartwarming” and “in line with the timeline and projections of his government”.

According to him, the projects reviewed at the meeting included:  Ile Ife flyover and dualisation, Lameco flyover at Osogbo, Ila Orangun township dualisation, Osogbo-Ofatedo-Awo junction dualisation, Iwo township dualisation, reconstruction of the bridge linking Ilahun and Ere Ìjèsà, as well as Ibokun/Ilahun/Ere Ijesa – Iwoye ìjèsà, among others.

The governor, who expressed satisfaction that asphalt laying is already ongoing at Ile Ife, Iwo and Ila Orangun, tasks the contractors to speed up work on all infrastructure programmes, declaring, “we must deliver as quickly as possible”.

Earlier, the Commissioner for Special Duties and Regional Integration, Dr B.T. Salami, briefed the governor on various infrastructure projects and assured him that the pace of implementation is within the timelines previously approved.

He also stated that the government technical team has been taking feedback from members of the public on the quality of work being done by the contractors and that remedial actions are taken immediately, where necessary, upon receipt of such reports.