Kennedy Ikantu Peretei, the PDP publicity secretary in Ondo State says the new Director General, Performance and Project Implementation Monitoring Unit (PPIMU), Babajide Akeredolu must be reminded on the need to declare his assets.
Babajide, the last son of the Governor of Ondo State, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu was recently sworn-in to head the PPIMU.
Peretei who has been writing on the series, “Akeredolu’s Misrule In Ondo State”, on Sunday, highlighted how the Governor has put his son on collision course with the law.
The PDP chieftain added that Babajide’s emergence as a public servant owing to his new status, means that he should declare his assets with the code of conduct bureau.
“Now that Babajide Akeredolu has become a public servant, it is now mandatory for him to declare his assets with the Code of Conduct Bureau. He has to do so at the beginning and end of his tenure as DG, PPMIU. He must declare all the houses and petrol stations he bought with the N430m he collected from the Ondo State treasury without lifting a finger.
“He is under the law, expected to declare the source of his billions syphoned from Ondo State. He is expected to declare where he ever worked before his father was elected as Governor for him to have acquired such assets. Babajide’s father is a lawyer, l expect him to know that, any of his properties not captured in his Code of Conduct Assets Declaration forms will be forfieted to the Federal Government.
“It is more than three weeks that Mr Governor’s son took office as DG in the Ondo State public service. By now he should have completed his Assets Declaration forms. If he has not done so, it is in his best interest to do so with alacrity. If he fails to include his prime properties, he ought to know the Implications. This is where greed has led father, wife and son,” Peretei noted.
He also expressed dismay as to why the son of the Governor would be given such a powerful position with no cognate knowledge.
“For him to deliver the entire processes of procurement, projects design, implementation and evaluation of the Governor’s office to a young man without any cognate experience other than following his father during campaigns is the level Akeredolu has reduced governance in the State.
“How many of such young men, who accompanied him everywhere have been acknowledged by Team Aketi? How many of them, some with intimidating credentials have been given any kind of appointment not to talk of the biggest in cabinet?
“As it stands, all the files treated by State Commissioners will have to land on “Baba’s” table for onward transfer to Akeredolu ( if need be). The statutory oversight functions of Ondo State House of Assembly have also been surreptitiously annexed by Babajide’s office. In the history of Ondo State, no Governor has openly displayed this level of parochialism and nepotism,” Peretei said.
The PDP spokesperson also wrote on how he warned that workers in the State would not be paid salaries before the Christmas celebration.
“When at the beginning of December, l predicted that, workers in the employment of the Ondo State Government will celebrate Christmas on empty stomachs, the government propaganda machinery dismissed it with the wave of the hand.
“The empty markets across the State, the gloom in many homes and inability to purchase basic needs during Christmas told the story better than any artist could have painted.
“As if to mock the workers, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, advised workers not to overspend during the Yuletide. When there is no money to be spent, how does one over spend? This is not the subject for today’s series, so, l leave it at that.”
This series will continue shortly.
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