Mimiko Converting Bailout Funds To Soft Loans In Ondo – APC

Olusegun MimikoThe Ondo State chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the state governor, Olusegun Mimiko, of alleged diversion of the bailout funds the state received from the federal government as loans to members of NURTW, Artisans, market women in exchange for their voter cards. ‎
President Muhammadu Buhari had last July approved the release of N713.7billion intervention funds for states to pay workers’ salaries.
The bailout was part of a three-pronged relief package by the Buhari administration to help states, which were buckling under the weight of dwindling federal allocation, to settle outstanding workers’ salaries, allowances and pensions owed the people. ‎‎
While some states are yet to apply for the bailout funds, others that had received their own share, have either used it to settle workers’ salaries or diverted it other purposes the funds were not originally meant for.
One of such states in the latter category is Ondo, according to the state publicity secretary of APC, Omo’ba Abayomi Adesanya, who said the party has “uncovered a new strategy by Governor Olusegun Mimiko to hoodwink the people of Ondo State and to illegally acquire their voter’s cards under the guise of soft loans to certain groups of people and associations in the state”.
According to Adesanya, these groups the National Union of Road, Transport Workers (NURTW), artisans, market women associations, the Okada Riders Association, Tipper union and others.

He claimed that “Using his surrogates planted within these associations, the governor has started witch-hunting and intimidating members who refused to submit details and photocopy of their voter’s cards.
“He has threatened to deregister and expel them as members of such association/group and that he will not allow them to function within the state.

“Mimiko’s plan is to give soft loans of between N60,000 to N100,000 to every member in exchange for their voter’s card ahead of the 2016 gubernatorial election in the state. He also promised any member with children of voting age an extra N100, 000, depending on the number of children”. ‎
“This is obviously robbing Peter to pay Paul. He is robbing the workers in the state of their salaries to give loans to the artisans, NURTW, market women in exchange of their voter’s cards”, the Ondo APC alleged.

The party, however, pleaded with the aforementioned groups and the good people of the state not to fall for what it termed Governor Mimiko’s “evil plot”, stressing “Voter’s card or its information should not be released to anybody or government agents as pre condition or license loan. Doing so will amount to selling their future and that of their children”.

“We challenge Ondo State Police command, Directorate of State Security, Ondo State command, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in the State to quickly investigate this matter and unravel the government agents behind this dastardly act and bring them to book”, the statement concluded.