The Osun State government has debunked claims that Governor Rauf Aregbesola spent N4.6 billion on four trailer parks across the state.
A statement yesterday in Osogbo, the state capital, by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Adelani Baderinwa, said: “It has come to the attention of the State Government of Osun, the false and unfounded accusation by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against the noble person of Governor Rauf Aregbesola on the planned construction of four trailer parks in some parts of the state.
“The PDP, in its usual arbitrary manner, falsely claimed that Governor Aregbesola awarded a N4.6 billion contract for trailer parks, which was not executed.
“To set the record straight, the state government wishes to state that no kobo of the state was spent on the proposed trailer parks; the government had no financial commitment to the execution of the contract, and it had been terminated for a very long time.

“The contract was awarded on concession to Safeway Track Solution Limited in 2011, following the proposal it presented to the state government.
“The concession agreement was signed on November 30, 2012. The concession agreement was that the company was going to be fully responsible for the project financing; therefore, the government had no financial commitment to the project. And all necessary facilities were to be provided by the company in each of the parks that were to be built in Osogbo-Ikirun road, Osogbo-Iwo Road, Osogbo-Ilesa Road and Osogbo-Akoda Road.”
 
“According to the concession agreement, the concessionaire (Safeway Track Solution Limited) would build, operate and transfer the facilities to the state government after 25 years. Before the transfer, the state government was to have 30 per cent of the total profit earned while the concessionaire was to have 70 per cent.
“The only commitment of the state government to the planned park was the provision of land, which was provided to the Safeway Track Solution Limited by the Ministry of Works. The total cost of the contract was N4.6 billion, including the value of the provided land, which was N320 million.
“It is on record that the contractor worked for some time before challenges set in, which prevented further work on the project sites.

“Based on the inability or the failure of the concessionaire, the government terminated the contract. That is the fact of the contract.
“The PDP has been known for mischief, frivolous allegation and deceit. The party has failed in its deliberate attempt to misconstrue the concession agreement of the planned trailer parks. The PDP knows the fact but went ahead to tell cheap lies. It amounts to irresponsibility and outright absence of conscience for the PDP to misinform the public. This is not how to do opposition; it is simply a dubious character.
“The Rauf Aregbesola administration has been transparent and prudent in award of contracts and governance issues. The governor has been able to manage the meagre resources of the state for unprecedented and surprising development of the state. It is worthy of note that Osun did not witness any meaningful development when the PDP government, which got huge amounts of money, was managing the affairs of the state. We urge the PDP to stop this campaign of calumny and fruitless effort to smear Aregbesola’s good image.
“No matter how devilish they become, the people of Osun have chosen to continue supporting the government of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Aregbesola’s administration. The PDP should for once live a truthful life.”