My appointment has brought efficiency into governance – Ondo Gov’s Son

Ondo State Governor’s son, Babajide Akeredolu, has given further insight into why he was appointed Special Adviser and Director-General, Performance and Project Implementation Unit, Office of the Governor of Ondo State. He said his office was designed “because of the need to have someone closer to reach the Governor on policies, someone that can meet […]

Ondo State Governor’s son, Babajide Akeredolu, has given further insight into why he was appointed Special Adviser and Director-General, Performance and Project Implementation Unit, Office of the Governor of Ondo State.

He said his office was designed “because of the need to have someone closer to reach the Governor on policies, someone that can meet him in the room and say these are the issues.”

Speaking with newsmen in Lagos, Akeredolu jnr further stated that his office has brought efficiency into governance even as he denied that the contractors handling projects in the state were owned by the first family.

According to him, the government understudied three different states including Kaduna and Ekiti while designing his office.

He said, “What made us unique was we got the African Development Bank to key into what we are doing, they liked the idea and linked us with the presidency of Senegal.

“To be honest project monitoring is really expensive and can run into billions and we don’t have the resources so we are focusing on performances with the right people.”

He said his office is responsible for designing key performance for every ministry in the state which did not exist in the past.

He added, “Why you have not seen much of us in the media is because my dad as a lawyer is not a pro publicity person, we can’t waste limited resources on media presence he just wants to focus on doing the job.”

On allegations that the largest chunk of the state’s projects are being executed by the first family, he said, “If you try to justify some things, a lot of people will still have their own perception”

“They say I am in-charge of revenue, let us say it is true, Ondo state went from N600m to about N2.2bn a month.

“If my interest was to eat the money, why would I make it transparent? If I am getting all the contracts why will I venture into governance where there is code of conduct?

Akeredolu also denied allegations by the federal government that governors are stealing local government funds.

He said, “We don’t help them spend their money, the only time the Governor interfered was when the LGAs needed vehicles so we took from their money and added some for them to purchase it. Though the money comes through us, we let them spend it after seeing what they want to use it for and we approve it.”

Speaking further, he threw his weight behind the candidature of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) flag bearer, saying, “I believe in Asiwaju’s capacity, he always puts the right people in the right places. So, Asiwaju is the man to beat.”