Former Governor Rashidi Ladoja of Oyo State has advised Governor Seyi Makinde-led administration to crosscheck facts always before passing comments against his predecessors in office.
Ladoja was a major force that canvassed support for Makinde’s electoral victory.
In a statement issued on Monday by his Media Aide, Alhaji Lanre Latinwo, made available to journalists in Ibadan, Ladoja frowned on the statement credited to the state government that claimed that no past administration bought a water drilling rig for the State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency after 1995.
Ladoja’s statement read in parts, “Rigs were launched at Igangan in Ibarapa North Local Government by the then Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
“The whole idea was to use same to eradicate guinea worm that was an epidemic in Ibarapa and some parts of Oke Ogun and Ogbomosho zones of the state.
“RUWASSA, formerly Water and Sanitation Agency, was an agency under the Governor’s office with a Project Director under the supervision of the then Secretary to the State Government.
“The epidemic was eradicated in a little over a year with awards and recognition from/by Federal Government of Nigeria, Jimmy Carter Foundation and several other international agencies.
“It needs be noted that the rig donated by JICA could drill up to 300 metres and was about the best in the West Africa sub-region at that time.
“When that is compared to the one for which approval was given, the latter can conveniently be referred to as a ‘toy rig.’
“If the administration could use it’s goodwill to get such a gift of two complete drilling machines, why can’t your administration do same than to deride previous governments.
“If the rigs were not put to good use, why the awards and recognitions? It is those rigs that are still being used by Oyo State till recently when, as claimed by Najeem Omirinde, approval was obtained to buy another one.
“And now that the new ones were being proposed by the government, why must you castigate others for not buying rigs especially when you can use expertise, experience and connections to get rigs. Why buying another one when money meant for that could be put to some other use?”
