
Release statistics backing your claim of increased poverty in Ogun State — Abiodun challenges CUPP
Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has challenged the Ogun State Chapter of the Coalition for United Political Parties (CUPP) to provide statistical evidence to support its claim that 68.1% of the population in Ogun State has been driven into poverty.
In a statement issued by the Governor’s Special Adviser on Media and Strategy, Hon. Kayode Akinmade, the State Government dismissed the CUPP’s assertion as the ramblings of political opportunists and fraudsters disturbed by the Governor’s growing political profile.
The government described the Femi Sholuade-led CUPP as a group of political nonentities “desperately seeking relevance by concocting voodoo figures,” and urged the coalition to either present evidence to back its claims or “remain silent forever in the gutter of irrelevance to which it belongs.”
The statement continued: “Were it not for the need to disabuse the minds of innocent people who may be taken in by CUPP and its tales by moonlight, it would have been entirely unnecessary to dignify the utter gibberish by CUPP and its sponsors with a reply, but we owe the nation a record to curtail the spread of fake news released with the intent to create chaos in Ogun State.”
The government questioned how Governor Abiodun could be accused of impoverishing the state when he has secured major investments such as the “$400 million MoU with Arise Integrated Industrial Platform on the development of Olokola Free Trade Zone and Remo Agro Processing Zone,” the “$500 million investment by the African Industries Group,” the Canadian Government’s “promised investment in the agricultural and technological sectors of the Ogun economy to strengthen over 60 years of bilateral relationship with Nigeria,” the “$500 million investment by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to enhance power infrastructure in Ogun State,” the “$300 million investment by Galaxy Steel Company Limited to establish a new steel plant for the production of specialised steel products in Ogun State,” and a “$5 million battery recycling plant by a British company, among others.”
The government also highlighted Ogun State’s status as the safest in Nigeria, thanks to the security measures implemented under Governor Abiodun. It stated: “As Governor Abiodun himself has said, Ogun remains the safest state in the country due to the security architecture put in place, while over 600 km of roads have been constructed and various reforms and policies have been put in place to help improve the Ease of Doing Business ranking of the state.”
In response to the CUPP’s accusations, the government stated: “CUPP and its sponsors are just playing to the gallery because some politicians gave them money to rubbish the achievements of the governor in various sectors. Most of these so-called CUPP members lack integrity; they should be disregarded. Only the blind will fail to see these achievements.”
It added: “Their hearts being full of mischief and evil, we understand why CUPP and its sponsors are willfully and deliberately blind and cannot see the numerous achievements of Governor Dapo Abiodun, for which the good people of Ogun State remain deeply appreciative.”
The statement criticised the CUPP’s claims as “nothing but a vainglorious, irredeemably illiterate, and utterly mischievous concoction that can only excite ignoramuses. Just how can anyone who claims sanity say that a governor who has been radically transforming Ogun State and has made it an investment destination has plunged the populace into poverty by doing so?”
The Governor’s ongoing infrastructure projects, such as the regular inauguration of new roads, were also defended. The government noted: “On a weekly basis, the Ogun State Governor inaugurates new roads. In November last year, during the commissioning of the Ojodu Abiodun-Denro-Ishasi-Akute Road, Governor Dapo Abiodun announced plans to award contracts within the next two weeks for the construction of the Alagbole-Akute and Akute-Oke-Aro-Ijoko roads in the Ifo Local Government Area, arguing that a robust road network is essential for development. That is his style.”
Regarding housing, the government clarified: “The Ogun State Government did not give out houses freely; it is not a bazaar. People paid and were allocated the houses. The government made advertisements on housing schemes, people applied, and were allocated houses accordingly. If CUPP has concrete evidence of wrongdoing, we challenge it to publish it.”
The statement concluded by addressing Femi Sholuade’s comments on independent power projects: “It is a pity that Femi Sholuade says that many states in the federation are evolving into solar or going into independent power projects in order to improve their economic fortunes with stable supplies of electricity, without paying attention to happenings in his own state.”
The government pointed to the recent law establishing the Ogun Electricity Market (OGEM), saying: “The law establishing an Ogun Electricity Market (OGEM) to ensure increased quality and quantity of services to Ogun residents has just been assented to by the Governor. It will provide a deregulated market for electricity, including several major players like the transmission and distribution companies, among others; provide a framework and map for the private sector, commercial viability, service, improve the people’s well-being, facilitate business, enhance industrialisation, and promote peace and development across the State.”