By Kolade Larewaju
THERE appears to be realignment between Governor Olugbenga Daniel and members of the State House of Assembly as the Speaker, Mr. Tunji Egbetokun yesterday said the House had started the consideration of the N100 billion bond being sought by the government.

This has given hope that a lifeline appears to be on the way for cash-strapped Ogun State.

The Speaker said Governor Daniel, had supplied all the required details, especially the projects the funds to be raised would be used for and that the lawmakers had no objection to the approval of the bond.

He said : “We have said this all along that the bond issue is not personal or political. There is a need to ensure that all procedures follow due process.While we tried to ensure that, some people said we were trying to stifle the process of governance. Now that the governor has supplied the House with the required information, we have no choice than to consider the bond on its merit.

“He has written to the Assembly to outline the details of the projects the bond will be used for. We are not opposed to the development of the state but there is a need to ensure that there are checks and balances. So, we have instructed the Finance and Appropriation Committee to begin the consideration of the bond preparatory to the presentation of the document in our plenary.”

The Speaker explained that the House was scheduled to begin sittings on the bond on Tuesday, August 3, when some protesters, led by the Secretary to the Abeokuta South Local Government, Mr. Nurudeen Olaleye, stormed the premises of the Assembly with fetish objects, allegedly to protest the refusal of the lawmakers to approve the bond.

“We were supposed to resume deliberations on the approval of the bond the day some people said they were protesting, carrying juju to the House and throwing eggs. We had to call-off the sitting over security concerns and when normalcy is restored and the security of members is guaranteed, we will begin sitting but that does not stop the work of the committee,” he said.

Egbetokun, however, said while the controversial debt profile of the state had been disclosed, which was put at N22 billion, the House would invite relevant agencies in the government and representatives of banks and financial houses to verify the sources of the credit facilities before the final approval was granted.

“Like I said earlier, this approval will follow due process. The Governor has fulfilled part of the requirements by furnishing us with relevant information; we now need to go ahead and verify various claims and then we can approve the bond.

It is not true that the Governor wrote a personal letter to me; that letter was addressed to the Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, not to Tunji Egbetokun. So, the House will do what is just as representatives of the people.”