Shina Abubakar

The Senator representing Osun West Senatorial District in Osun State, Adelere Oriolowo has said the report alleging that he spent a paltry sum of N2.5million out of N40million allocated for his constituency project in the 2020 budget as fake news.

Oriolowo while debunking the media reports in some national dailies said he was not involved in the execution of the N40million Zonal Intervention Programme for practical skill development and training of youths and women in fishing recently conducted in selected areas of Osun West Senatorial District in Osun State.

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A statement signed by the Oriolowo stated that the only role he played in the realization of the project was to facilitate the inclusion of the project in the 2020 budget to benefit members of his constituency

The senator said, the burden of proof or otherwise of the expenditure remains with the implementation agency and the consultant hired to execute the project.

An independent project monitoring organisation trackNG had on its Twitter handle faulted what it refers to as the claims by Senator Adelere Oriolowo on the expenditure of the 2020 constituency projects.

However, the Senator said he never spoke with any media organisation where he made such claims as alleged.

Oriolowo maintained he never participated in the process of engaging the consultant nor organising and executing the project.

His words: To the issue raised on the report that the independent monitor organisation faulted a claim by me, I did not make any claim on this issue.

“Nobody contacted me to ask me in the finances of this project, I did not grant any press interview on the finances of the project. I couldn’t have because firstly, projects are jot domiciled in any legislator’s office, I mean the budget and its implementation. We as legislators are not saddled with it, we are just facilitators of projects.

“This project is anchored in an agency, specifically, Nigerian Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research Institute in Lagos.

“All I needed to know was when the project was approved for implementation, they came to me to gather my constituents for training and that I did,” Orolowo said.

Vanguard News