The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Oyo State, Engineer Seyi Makinde, Mr Taiwo Adisa, addressed the Leaked Memo concerning the building of the Local Government Secretariat on his Twitter page (@taiwoadisa13)
He stated that “I have read the memo from the Local Government Service Commission of Oyo State, which was leaked by some persons, ostensibly with the aim of embarrassing the Commission and the Governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde.
“Come to think of it, what’s the essence of it all? The Governor gave approval for the construction of the Headquarters of the Local Government Service Commission, which in practice, is to serve as the headquarters of the Grassroots system of government in the state.
“There are three tiers of government in the country; the Federal, the State and the Local Governments. The Federal Government has its Federal Secretariats in the FCT, Abuja, and in different State capitals, the 36 States equally have their Secretariats in the capital cities of the States.
“The Local Governments have secretariats in the council headquarters but are also supposed to have a Secretariat at the State capital to coordinate their activities through the Local Government Service Commission.
“In Oyo State, for more than 35 years, the Local Government Service Commission and the Local Government Pension Board have been tenants at the Water Corporation building, with the attendant shortage of office space for staff.
“Take note of the fact that the Local Government Service Commission services over 50,000 retired and service staff of local governments in the state. A state like Osun, which was excised from Old Oyo State, built its own Local Government Service Commission secretariat way back under the administration of Chief Bisi Akande at the start of the Fourth Republic.
“So why should the Commission in Oyo State continue to remain a tenant, when its services are in no way performed on adhoc basis?
“For the information of those who have constituted themselves as ‘nay-sayers,’ let it be placed on record that Governor Seyi Makinde only approved the construction of the building in question.
“He did not ask any local government to donate funds for unknown reasons or for the fight of imaginary security challenge.
“The councils in question had met and proposed a certain amount as their contributions, only for the Governor to wade in and persuade them not to do more than N15 million, while the commission would have to source for any balance if that sum cannot complete the secretariat.
“But with a transparent process, we have been assured of the completion of the structure in a record time.
“Contrary to what they might want to insinuate, Governor Makinde will not preside over a system where the state’s resources would be frittered away. He remains an apostle of accountability.
“We should also restate here that those who have illegally kept the resources belonging to Oyo people who have been notified to return the same by Governor Makinde should better yield the advice or risk prosecution in a short while.
“Let them know that their attempts at diverting the attention of the public from their heinous crimes against Oyo State will not hold because judgement day has come.
“Indeed, if they have devoted the eight years they spent in Government to constructive and transformative service for the people of Oyo State, the Secretariat we are now striving to put in place should have been built years back.”
