By James Ogunnaike, Abeokuta

The Ogun State chapter of Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) and the Human Rights and Grassroots Development Society (HRGDS), have described the ongoing investigation of a former Special Adviser/DG on Lands, Mr. Biyi Ismail by the Ogun House of Assembly as “selective and “personal vendetta”.

It would be recalled that the House Committee on Public Accounts and Anti-corruption, led by Hon. Lamidi Musefiu had last week summoned Ismail to appear before it over alleged financial infractions.

In a statement issued in Abeokuta by the Chairman of CDHR in the State, Mustapha Tiamiyu and the Secretary of HRGDS, Femi Akanbi described the allegations against Ismail as “politically motivated”.

The statement reads: “It appeared the committee is fast derailing from the supposed serious business conduct of the House.

“The organizations suspect the allegations were politically motivated, wrongful, intentionally and without cogent facts but full of false accusations against a former Special Adviser/DG to the Ogun State governor in the last administration, Mr. Biyi Ismail, was alleged of financial infractions from 2015 to 2019.

“Evidently and as a matter of fact, Hon Lamidi Musefiu the head of the committee, was also a Special Adviser/DG during the same administration and it is our expectation that Lamidi has indepth knowledge of the administration he served under.

“It is shocking that the false accusations against Mr Biyi Ismail who was a Special Adviser/DG to the then Ogun State governor between 24th February 2016 and 31st December 2018 (2years, 10months), which allegedly spans over a period, he was not even the SA/DG lands.

“If the purported investigation is genuine and not a means to settle personal scores, why were invites not sent to the three other persons who were special advisers/DGs over the said period of 2015 to 2019 . The selective investigation and invite to just Mr. Biyi Ismail points to the fact that Mr. Lamidi is merely using the instrumentality of his position as Chairman Ogun State House of Assembly Committee on Public accounts and anti-corruption to attempt to dent the good image of the former Special Adviser.

“There is also no justifiable fact in the publication by the Chairman that the former Special Adviser refused to honour the first invite on the excuse that he was abroad during the COVID 19 pandemic. We observed that the former SA/DG actually honored the first invite that was sent to him and attended the meeting, which was inconclusive due to the committee’s negligence and inability to send out the proper invite to the key government officers saddled with the responsibility of keeping records at the Lands bureau.

“We found out that Lamidi’s claims on ICT Infrastructure he mentioned running into over N400m is vague and absurd as this was not approved, supervised or executed by him, which is just another tactics to drag Mr. Ismail’s name in the mud.

“The committee Chairman’s demand for list of land allocation at Flowergate between 2015 and 2019 as well as those in other government layouts from the former DG land is another shocker. Should such demands not be directed to the director of land management whose office keeps such records?

“Mr. Ismail raised the bureau’s IGR from less than 3bn to over 6bn in 2016, then over 8bn in 2017 and over 10bn in 2018. Lamidi requested clarification from Mr. Ismail on why the Bureau’s revenue dropped by 70 percent from N10.6bn to N3.1bn during a period he had left office is disappointing. How would Mr. Ismail be expected to answer to the underperformance that happened, especially for a period he has left the office”.

“The committee chairman should put his thoughts together and stop engaging in time wasting ventures which continues to disgrace the Ogun State House of Assembly. We have reasons to believe that Mr. Lamidi’s actions may be based on past scores which he has to settle with the former SA/DG lands and it is disappointing that the scarce resources and machineries of our State are being deployed towards such personal vendetta.”