The Executive Governor of Ogun state, Dapo Abiodun has been accused of planning to squander the sum of N200 billion on ‘mere welfarism’ by the Governorship candidate of the Allied People’s Movement (APM), Hon. Adekunle Akinlade.
This accusation was leveled by Hon. Akinlade while making a comparison between former Governor Ibikunle Amosun and the incumbent Gov Abiodun.
Akinlade said Amosun did not share free money like Abiodun, allegedly, was planning to do with the 2020 budget in the state. As analysed by the state government, Social well-being and welfarism has the largest share of the Ogun 2020 budget, recently signed into law.
According to the governor, infrastructure will gulp a sum of N107.964b, which is 24% of the entire budget; but Social well-being and welfare takes N128.067b, being 28% of the budget. Education has N90.609b and that is 20% of the appropriation bill.
Agriculture gulps N21.634b, which is 5% of the budget. N7.896b was appropriated for youth empowerment and that is 2% of the budget. A sum of N92.804b goes into what the governor termed ‘others’; that equates to 21% of the budget, he said.
The Gubernatorial candidate of Allied People’s Movement (APM), Akinlade while addressing his loyalists at his country home yesterday stated that the Governor earmarked over N200 billion in the budget to allegedly share money.
He wondered why Abiodun did not place priority on infrastructural development like Sen. Amosun.
“No where in the history of the world where you talk of development or industrialisation, when there is no infrastructure. We have a leader, Amosun, who understands this very well.
“He could have decided to do “feferism” (welfarism) like our ‘brother’ wants to do now. Over N200b, is there in Welfarism budget; just to share money. Amosun could have decided to do the same. But he didn’t.
“Yes, he would have been popular, but for a very short while; because one day somebody will ask him, what did you do when you had the opportunity.”
Akinlade told newsmen that he would not be able to comment on Abiodun’s government in the past seven months when asked in an interview.
He said, ”You cannot explain what you don’t understand. I do not understand what the agenda of this present administration is. I only know of the Mission to Rebuild.”