Gov Makinde revokes N7bn road contract awarded by Ajimobi

Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde on Monday said he had revoked the Moniya-Iseyin road contract awarded by the immediate past administration led by Senator Abiola Ajimobi.

The contract was awarded for N7 billion when Ajimobi gave it out.

Makinde, who disclosed the development while speaking at the launch of a $5 million Agribusiness Project initiative by Farmcrowdy, said that the road was important to the government’s decision to promote agribusiness.

He said the previous government awarded the contract to an Engineering firm that did not have the capacity to handle the project, adding that even though the owner of the firm was known to him, he could not mix friendship with the business of governance.

In a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, the governor was quoted saying that the contract was revoked to enable him address the challenges of moving farm produce around the state.

He added that the state government would go ahead to re-award the contract, noting that when completed, the road would redress the challenges of moving farm produce from Oke Ogun area to Ibadan, the state capital.

At the event attended by the Deputy Governor, Engineer Raufu Olaniyan; the Chief of Staff, Chief Bisi Ilaka; the Secretary to the State Government, Mrs Olubamiwo Adeosun and other government functionaries, Makinde welcomed the launch of the Farmcrowdy initiative saying: “I welcome you to a partnership that I believe will be mutually beneficial to you and the people of the state.”

Read also: Gov Tambuwal speaks on how to tackle corruption to standstill

The Governor, who pointed out that the state government was fully committed to revolutionising agriculture, indicated that his administration had begun the steps towards using agriculture to revamp and expand the economy of the state by identifying and recruiting one of the best names in agribusiness in Africa, Dr Debo Akande, who was appointed as Executive Adviser on Agribusiness.

He added that in line with his commitment on agriculture, the state government had a retreat on agribusiness in Cotonou, Benin Republic, noting that his government would execute the report of the retreat to the letter

In his speech, the Managing Director of Farmcrowdy, Kenneth Obiajulu, said that through crowd-funding, Farmcrowdy had been able to impact 25,000 farmers and worked in 14 states out of 36, noting that it was launching the initiative as a partnership on agriculture to help Oyo state.

The Deputy Director-General of IITA Partnership for Development, Mr Kenton Dashiell, while speaking, noted that IITA was ready to be a partner with Farmcrowdy in increasing agribusiness in Oyo State, saying: “we have been working with farmers in Oyo State for 52 years but two things are missing: markets and access to quality yields.”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now