Speaking with newsmen at his residence yeasterday, former governor of Oyo State, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, blamed his successor, governor Abiola Ajimobi for the present financial crisis in the state.
The Accord Party(AP) governorship candidate said he left N13 billion in the state coffers, when he was impeached in 2006, and wondered how things got worse financially in the state.
His words: “As far as I am concerned, mismanagement of the present government is responsible for the financial mess in the state. “Also, choice of priority is a main issue in the financial mess in the state as the state government is spending money on unnecessary and inflated projects that are not sustainable.
“Where are the university and hotel Ajimobi promised to build? The bridge Ogun State built for N1, he built it for N5. These are things that culminated into financial crisis in the state because due to lack of priority, Ajimobi embarked on projects; but citizens bear its brunt, where civil servants cannot get their salaries and the government can no longer provide social amenities.”
Ladoja also kicked against the creation of new states, saying it will undermine national development due to lack of funds induced by the present economic recession.
He urged for merger of states that cannot survive the present economic condition with the viable ones and stressed the need to for the government to diversify from oil to agriculture, which he described as the most sustainable economic sector in the world.
Ladoja decried the neglect of agriculture, which was the pride of the nation, wondering why many Nigerians have turned into beggars instead of working in the farms.