Osun State Government on Sunday asserted that there is no law in Osun state that empowers a Governor or his appointees to take government vehicles away while throwing down a challenge at ex-governor Oyetola’s team by asking them to provide the name and the date of enactment of what it called ‘ supposed fake law’.
Governor Ademola Adeleke’s spokesman, Mallam Olawale Rasheed in a statement made available to Team@orientactualmags.com said ‘what the law provides is the possibility of auctioning of public property if the need arises for such, submitting that such an exercise must past through due process with application of auctioning regulations and procedures’.
‘In this case, there was no auctioning of those vehicles. No tender payment, bidding and opening exercise. Without any legal foundation, there was share-out of vehicles cumulatively worth about N3.5 billion. Then, the affected officials admitted and are still laughably justifying illegality bordering on criminal infraction.
Citing non-existing law is embarrassing to those affected and the state as a whole. How can learned people be relying on such an illegal foundation instead of immediately returning government vehicles to the pool without further delay?
As thing stands, the only law that will apply now except the vehicles are returned, relates to criminal theft of public property and this will be invoked in the next forty eight (48) hours.
Past officials have confirmed that they took government vehicles away. We have detailed records of all missing vehicles and which official is holding them. The Asset Recovery Committee will launch out on re-possession and retrieval exercise in line with stipulations of the law.
If the Oyetola administration had done proper handover through coordinated transition, the team would have been saved the embarrassing scenario of appropriating government property without any legal basis.
Just as the past government misgoverned the state probably on false advice, sheer ignorance or deliberate wickedness, its officials went away with government vehicles using tradition as law and exposing themselves and their principal to criminal trial’ the statement said- Team@orientactualmags.com Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08059100286, 09094171980. Thank you
