The long and twisting journey to unravel the truth about the N648,000 scam rocking the Orimerunmu Area Community Development Committee finally yielded some dividends as National Infinity finally got hold of some documents that has illuminated the dappled transaction.
According to the documents, the Orimerunmu Area Community Development Committee had written a letter to the Ogun State Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, Department of Planning, Research & Statistics seeking an “approval to construct a dual carriage road and drainages at Orimerunmu”
On the 19th of March, 2019, the ministry replied through a letter with reference number: PL 256/54.
The letter signed by Kayode Ademolake, permanent secretary of the ministry, reads “I am directed to convey the approval by the State Government to commence construction of Orimerunmu road in Ofada/Mokoloki LCDA based on the drawings submitted to our office on the 20th of February 2019.”
Akomolake had earlier today denied his ministry’s involvement with the controversial letter demanding N648,000 from Orimerunmu community.
The letter further noted “ the project is a self help (Community Sponsored Project) and shall be at and shall be at no financial cost to the State Government”
Two engineers Adeyinka and Remi Awotunde were attached as supervisors of the project.
It will be noted that in a meeting of the CDC held at Iya-Ijebu junction in December 2017, Akinfolarin had at the beginning of the last expansion carried out on the road in mid 2017, asserted that the Orimerunmu road project is a joint venture between Ogun State Government and Orimerunmu community.
When asked to provide documented evidence on the joint venture between Ogun State Govt and Orimerunmu community, and who signed the MOU on behalf of both parties at a meeting held in the house of Segun Asere, a member of the community, he fizzled out.
Armed with the letter of approval from the Ministry of Works, he approached the Ministry of Urban and Physical Planning for “assistance towards the approval for construction of a dual carriage road and drainage at Orimerunmu by the area CDC.”
In the letter signed by Akinlorin as chairman and Oyeyemi-Sanni Olaitan, as Secretary, he wrote “OACDC and its environs hereby request for your assistance to serve the owner/occupier of buildings on the said road to maintain the government set-back in order to carry out the approval of the ministry of works”
The implication of the request to the Urban and Physical Planning is that a fresh demolition of properties would take place on Orimerunmu road after the one that was carried out by the same Michael Akinfolarin led exco in 2017 using Sanitary Inspectors as enforcement officers backed by a notice on plain sheet supposedly coming from the Ofada Mokoloki LCDA.
The Urban and Physical Planning ministry reportedly charged the sum of N648,000 as cost for “statutory notices to be served, security, fuelling of official vehicles, purchase of red oxide paint spray etc. ” Akinfolarin was reported to have entered into a negotiation with the ministry which resulted to a reduction to N374,000 and the negotiation has not been concluded as at press time.
As it is, any moment from now, government officials will storm Orimerunmu with Red Oxide paint with notices to House owners on the Orimerunmu main road after which the excavators will again move in.
