NGF crisis was planned –Aregbesola

Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State has said that the crisis in the Nigeria Governors’ Forum was orchestrated.

He said the scenario that played out after the NGF election was premeditated.

 He said, “Some people deliberately wanted to discredit a process that had been proven to be very organised, peaceful and without rancour.

“It takes two to tango and the best position is not neutrality. Look, let’s call a spade what it is. I won’t say more because I am a principal actor in the entire thing.

“We all know what was wrong but I think we are timid to say it. We cannot use an orchestrated and deliberate smear to castigate all governors. We all know the interest behind what happened. If we are not courageous enough to apportion blame, let’s be quiet. I rest my case.”

The governor said the South-West had not reneged on its pursuit for federalism.

He, however, regretted that he had been accused of infringing on the constitution in his campaign of federalism, adding, “I am a strong advocate of federalism.”

He also reiterated his call for regional integration in the South-West, especially in addressing issues of common interest.

He said, “A lot of things would be non-issues if addressed on a regional basis. For instance, the issue of crime control and security is so paramount that all of us are investing in security surveillance, aerial space surveillance to eliminate opportunistic attacks.

“These people know that they can move easily within a region but with such joint effort, it will not be possible. Besides, it will cost a lesser amount.”

On the issue of the state government owning a helicopter despite its meagre resources, Aregbesola said he did not see anything frivolous about it.

He explained that although the idea was dropped after it could not sail through, the state had opted for it to boost its response to emergencies and security-related issues.

“We expected that with this, we should be able to rescue, support and intervene if there is an emergency.

“We began by investing in an alert system that notifies the appropriate quarters in seconds when there is an emergency or a threat. We thought that the helicopter service would complement this by providing immediate help instead of going through the roads and taking hours to reach the point where help is needed,” he said.

Aregbesola said the Osun N4bn cargo airport project was in keeping with his administration’s goal of grooming its economy to become a key commercial hub.

He said, “We are still building an economy that will be privately owned. We need to banish poverty by empowering Nigerians to earn their sustenance.

“Having the cargo airport in Osun is important because it will be an incentive to investors instead of the unattractive roads and the danger they portend.

“Osun is the heartland of 33million Yoruba people in the world. Imagine 200,000 visitors coming to Osun in a year and spending $I,000 each, that is $200m. It will amortise the investment on the airport.

“We said at the outset that we will run an unusual government. Having an airport in Osun should not even be a problem because it had the first airstrip in Nigeria according to history.”

He also said that the state had boosted its agricultural sector through its periodic feeding of pupils.

PUNCH