The Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke has suspended the Project Consultant for the State’s Ilesa Water Project, Mrs Tawa Williams over mishandling of $106m loan for the project.
In a statement, by his Spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, the governor also directs full scale probe of the entire project and disbursed loans as there is no progress on the project despite reported disbursement of N10b and another $28m on the project.
According to the statement, Governor Adeleke also suspends the project coordinator to ensure a full scale review of the loan administration.
The statement orders the Consultant to return to the N70m bullet proof jeep in her possession to the state government.
”My administration will dig into this matter with all seriousness. The huge fund in question are loans to be repaid. We have a sacred duty to ensure accountability and transparency in the handling of the fund and the project”, the statement notes.
The Governor’s directive followed the findings made by the Assets Recovery Committee inaugurated by the Governor, which revealed an ongoing large scale pilfering of the procured loans while the project recorded no progress commiserating with reported expenditure.
According to the Committee, the Ilesa water project is not yet functional despite the huge amount of resources already spent on it.