Officials of Ogun State government have reportedly asked the Orimerunmu Area Community Development Council, OACDC to contribute a sum of N648,000 naira as cost of survey, inspection and other sundry costs towards the construction of the Orimerunmu main Road.
According to Michael Akinfolarin, chairman of the OACDC, in a letter he claimed to have received from the Ogun State Ministry of Urban and Physical Planning and read at the meeting of the council two weeks ago, following which the OACDC mandated all the Community Development Associations in its to make a compulsory donation of N10,000 to the effect Via an sms sent to all CDAs on April, 19, 2019 .
The SMS reads: ORIMERUNMU AREA CDC EMERGENCY MEETING COMES UP ON SAT. 20TH APRIL,19 BY 4PM AT D ROYAL ARK NUR/PRY SCH. JATULA. PLS COME WITH N10,000 4 PROJECT INSPECTION AND N5,000 4 CANOPY, CHAIRS FOR D CDA EXECUTIVE ELECTION & INSPECTION COMING UP ON 27TH APRI L ,19. BY 8AM AT ORIMERUNMU PRY SCH. PLS BE PUNCTUAL
When asked by some CDA chairmen present at the meeting for copies of the letter to take home to their members, Akinfolarin said he was not authorised to make the letter available to anybody until the road project is completed.
The move by Akinfolarin, an Allied Peoples’ Movement campaigner, who campaigned vigorously against the All Progressives Congress in the last general election, is been viewed in the community as a means to get compensated on his own terms by any crooked mean without minding the attendant embarrassment it will cause the person and office of Governor Ibikunle Amosun.
In the State’s reaction to the N684,000 allegedly demanded in the said letter, purportedly written by the Ministry of Urban and Physical Planning, three key officers of Ogun State State Government were contacted.
Respected journalist, Mr. Rotimi Durojaiye, who is Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the state governor, told National Infinity that “the said letter is a Scam. It has never happened and will not happen in the Ibikunle Amosun administration. Why will the government ask communities to contribute money to the government for any project? What kind of arrangement is that?”
The Special Adviser to the governor on Urban and Physical Planning, Town Planner Steven Adewolu told National Infinity that “the said letter is fake and it did not emanate from my ministry. It’s a fraud.”
Adewolu further clarified that “the ministry is not into road construction. Its only ministry of works and Infrastructure that construct roads.”
Mr. Nofiu Adebiyi, newly appointed Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Urban and Physical Planning, Ogun State, distanced his ministry from the alleged demand for N648,000 from OACDC saying its not in government’s tradition to make such demands.
Even though “I assumed duty here four days ago, if you are sure of this allegations, let the community come up with all documentation on the said letter and road project because nothing is impossible in this country anybody can come up with anything. This so-called letter can’t come from our ministry.
