Bailout funds: Govs have become endangered species, says Amosun

The release of bailout funds to States to cushion the effects of dwindling revenue has been described as a major reason why some State governors are being accused of mismanagement of resources and have become endangered species among their people.

Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, who stated this on Tuesday during ‎ a meeting with Organized Private Sector ‎at the Government House, Abeokuta, and declared that the responsibilities of state governments have actually grown beyond current resource allocation.

Amosun also said it was erroneous to accuse state governors of mismanagement of the bailout funds released to their respective states by the Federal Government.

He noted that the “era of free money from Abuja” had stopped, adding that the development had made governors to become endangered species among their people.

According to him, the huge depletion in the nation’s revenue owing to falling oil price has ‎ made it imperative for Nigerians to think out of the box.

The governor said stakeholders should not remain complacent about the economic situation of the country but must work harder to diversify into agriculture and other non-oil sectors.

Amosun, who noted that oil dependence made Nigerians to be lazy, stressed the need for partnership between the government and the private sector to revitalise the nation’s economy.

While restating his commitment towards providing more infrastructure to attract massive employment generation, the governor announced that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has approved ‎a certified sum of N123billion as refund for the road projects executed on behalf of the Federal Government by the state.

‎He assured that the government would provide more infrastructure and developmental projects if the state was eventually refunded.

On the spate of militant attacks rocking riverine communities in Ogun and neighbouring Lagos State, the governor ‎said government was working to tackle the emerging security threat.

‎Amosun, who alleged that some traditional chiefs and residents of the affected communities connived with the suspected militants to engage in oil theft, said the creeks would soon be cleared of criminals to secure government’s investments.