By Richard Ayinde, Osogbo.
Osun State Government has observed and condemned the circulation of a write-up titled ‘Settling political scores through people’s basic need in Ijeshaland’.
According to a press statement issued and made available to journalists in Osogbo the Osun State capital by Funke Egbemode, who is the state Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation on Wednesday, “it is unfortunate that the Ilesha Water Project has become the latest critical element that irreverent and drowning politicians have decided to anchor their iniquitous logic on to heat up the polity of the state that has enjoyed unparalleled peace under the administration of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of the state.
The statement said, for the sake of the citizens who deserve to know the truth, Osun State government wish to put the record straight that the implementation/completion of the project is not in jeopardy of abandonment in any way, because components of the project are currently being worked on and at different stages of completion.
Notably, the construction of Water Supply Distribution Network in Ilesa, Kajola, Iponda & Idominasi has reached 100 percent completion stage, while the ancillary projects like supply and installation of water meters, and construction of sanitation facilities in Ilesa are expected to be completed in 2023.
The Islamic Development Bank- funded components of the project are also scheduled for completion in 2023, considering the magnanimous extension of the project tenure because of the challenges that bedeviled the project arising from the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic and the effect of mining activities on the raw water bodies across the State which also affected the Ilesa Water Project.
The government is also informing the public that, “as against the ridiculous and unsubstantiated allegation about the removal of Engr (Mrs.) Tawa Williams by Govenor Oyetola, there had never been an actual or attempted removal of Engr. (Mrs.) Tawa Williams. Rather, he approved her to be the Project Management Consultant to man the project while the Honourable Commissioner and Special Adviser on Water Resources and Energy are only concerned with the oversight function of the Ministry of Water Resources and Energy.
“Since the assumption of power, Governor Oyetola has never meddled with the implementation of the project. Rather, he has given the necessary support whenever the need came up or there was a request. This could also be verified from the Project Management Consultant.
” It is also important to note that it is the Federal Ministry of Finance that is paying the contractor while the Federal Ministry of Water Resources supervises”.
The author of that jaundiced piece according to the statement, “must really be blind to verifiable facts about Oyetola’s deep concern for the welfare and wellbeing of citizens that informed his determination to complete erstwhile abandoned projects even from the meagre resources available to the state. The Gbongan-Akoda Road, and Osogbo-Ikirun Road are just a few examples. We have a governor who believes that every abandoned project diminishes the people and compromises the desired economic development and transformation of the state.
“We are stating emphatically that the Ilesa Water Supply and Sanitation Project was never an object of politicking as far as Governor Adegboyega Oyetola is concerned. He is interested in breaking the jinx of lack of potable water supply in Ijesaland permanently. Therefore the people of Ijesaland particularly Ilesa should rest assured that the project is on course and would be delivered as promised to provide them potable water before the end of 2023” the statement concluded.
