The enthusiasm and expectations that greeted the election of Hon. Emmanuel Olorunfemi as the executive chairman of Kabba-Bunu local government area of Kogi state seems to have gradually dissipated. There is a growing disenchantment with the government from every nook and cranny of the council by the people who voted en masse for the chairman they once saw as the man who will lead the council to Eldorado. Tales of sorrow and gnashing of teeth permeates the entire area as citizens recount their ordeals.
Allegations of deception and nepotism abound against the chairman, ranging from non-payment of council staff salaries, false claims of non-existent employment and SURE-P projects, forceful acquisition and conversion of people’s properties to personal usage to dereliction of statutory responsibilities. These put to question the underline philosophy of Hon Funsho’s socio-political and economic policies; whether they are people-friendly, solution oriented or not.
Regardless of huge allocation from Federal allocation to Kabba-Bunu LGA, which is exclusive of other allocations such as derivation, excess crude account, domestic crude account, SURE-P, NNPC refund and foreign exchange differentials. The dividend of good governance is comprehensively abysmal in the area.
Despite all these funds received, there is still a conspicuous absence of infrastructural development, complete collapse of roads in all the 15 wards of the council, heaps of refuse and decomposing corpses especially in Kabba, the headquarters of the council, dilapidated school buildings and painted uncompleted projects referred to as SURE-P projects by the chairman and his aides.
Commenting on the just concluded media tour of the Kogi State Council of the Nigeri Union of Journalists (NUJ), led by its chairman, Comrade Ali Atabor, a principal of a popular secondary school in Kabba who prefers anonymity, said those projects referred to as SURE-P projects have been in abeyance since Funsho’s administration. According to him, they are mostly uncompleted buildings and some buildings, such as St. Mary’s Primary Schol, Kabba the chairman hurriedly painted to deceive the team. He revealed that in order to paint those so called SURE-P projects, workers in Kabba-Bunu were owed several months of salary.
Because the chairman had nothing conspicuous then to show for his one year administration, painting those uncompleted projects, he noted, was the only option left as workers were made to suffer for his ineptitude.
He wondered why a chairman who should be an epitome of integrity would resort to deception and cheap lies. According to him, that was not the first time the chairman would display such deceptive trait. He recalled how Funsho publicly lied to the state governor, Captain Idris Wada, during his visit to Kabba-Bunu before the very eyes of the media. His words, “the council chairman took governor Wada to Iluke road and publicly told him that his administration has transformed the major roads in the area.”
“The most worrisome aspect of it all is that it was done before the very eyes of journalists who incidentally are also residents here. They know the truth but choose to report lies to the public who they ought to be their trustees”
Speaking to Kogiwatch, shortly after the assessment tour of SURE-P projects in Kabba-Bunu LGA, the NUJ chairman, Mr Ali Atabor, who led the team, urged council chairmen in the country to ensure transparency, honesty and fear of God in utilising public funds.
He expressed concern over the shoddy execution of jobs in some areas, saying he was disappointed with the renovation of classrooms at St. Mary’s Primary School, Kabba and a non-functional borehole at Owode.
Also at Iluke-BUnu, where the council chairman claimed to have renovated a secondary school’s science laboratory with N2.65 million, the NUJ chairman regretted that only the walls and windows of the one-classroom block was painted.
He lamented that over N6 million contracts for construction of three-clasroom blocks at Okebukun-BUnu had remained at foundation level with 60 percent of the contract sum already paid.
Atabor also flayed the evacuation and rehabilitation of roads and drains by the council at several millions of Naira as they hardly meet required standard.
He reminded the council boss that the SURE-P funds were meant to address infrastructural challenges in rural areas.
“we are not on police mission but to ensure accountability and transparency in utilization of SURE-P funds. You must be sincere, transparent and have fear of God”, he stressed.
Culled from Kogiwatch Magazine
