Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, on Sunday, denied receiving N1.2 billion as security votes for the state.
He stated in Akure, the state capital during the Ondo State governorship election debate organised by Channels Television and its partners..Read Full Statement
Aiyadatiwa, who is seeking election in the November 16 governorship election under the All Progressives Congress (APC), accused his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Agboola Ajayi, of telling lies to the whole world about the monthly security allocations.
“You don’t just play politics by coming here to the whole world that somebody is drawing N1.2 billion as a security vote. That is a lie from the pit of hell,” he said, without divulging the exact amount he gets as security votes.
The governor explained that every spending done in government has a budgetary provision for it, arguing that his administration will act above the budget.
He directed the PDP governorship candidate to crosscheck his information before giving out inaccurate information that can be misleading to the public.
“The budget is being published; it is on the net. You will see the appropriation for security votes and other expenditures, both capital and recurrent.
“What he is saying is not true. How can you say that during the Edo election week, I withdrew N1.2 billion? Am I the one contesting for the election? I am surprised you can’t say the truth,” he said.
Ondo Security
During the debate, the governor said the state government has beefed up security to ensure that lives and properties are safe.
He explained that after the deadly attack by gunmen in the Owo area of the state, the local security network, Amotekun, has augmented the efforts of the police and other security agencies.
According to the governor, Ondo State is one of the safest states in the country as lives and properties are safe.
“I can tell you that the people of Ondo State, not just Owo, feel more secure right now because, after that attack, security is one of the mandates of the government.
“We also brought out the initiative that led to the creation of our homegrown security network Amotekun because we believe that conventional security at the time could not handle the security challenges that we faced in Ondo State, Read Full Statement ” he added.