The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South-West has said that the party’s National Vice-Chairman (South-West), Chief Segun Oni does not parade questionable academic and professional certificates like the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and some of its governors.
PDP, in its reaction to comment by the ACN that the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) should question Oni’s credential as an Engineer challenged the ACN to make public Tinubu’s academic certificates, including the one he claimed to have obtained from Government College, Ibadan and Chicago University.
In a release signed by the Zonal Publicity Secretary, Hon. Kayode Babade, the PDP said awarding a road at over N1 billion per kilometer as being done by the ACN governors in the South-West is not only obnoxious and outrageous but fraudulent.
The statement reads; “Our attention has been drawn to a statement by the ACN in Oyo State asking the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) to conduct an inquiry into Oni’s claim of being an engineer.
“As far as we are concerned, Oni’s qualification as an engineer may be in doubt to some, especially those whose leader’s academic credentials are questionable, but to us, we know as a fact that he attended Ife (not Chicago) where he had a 2nd Class Upper in Chemical Engineering in 1979. His Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria (COREN) registration certificate number issued on November 11, 1988 is 3181 and NSE certificate issued on July 12, 1987 is 02601.
“We also know that Segun Oni is not a genius because the ACN definition of genius is he who attended elite schools like Christ School, Ado-Ekiti and could not pass School Certificate after many attempts until he got an arrangee School Certificate that he has never been proud to acknowledge.
“It is therefore our challenge that the ACN should make public the COREN and NSE certificates of their governor in Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola and the School Certificate their governor in Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi obtained in Christ School, Ado-Ekiti, where he claimed that he finished his secondary school education.”
On the cost of roads projects being executed by the ACN governors, Babade said; “N1billion for 1km of road is not only outrageous but fraudulent. It is pure Thievery.
“For the avoidance of doubt, in Ekiti when we were in government, we awarded 19km Ado-Iworoko-Ifaki dualisation for N6 billion. Everybody in Ekiti knows the terrain between Ado and Ifaki. Rocks were blasted, bridges and culverts were constructed, yet it was awarded for N6 billion!
“It is therefore clear that the ACN governors that are awarding road contracts at exorbitant rates are only pilfering public fund, hiding under questionable road projects, many of them involving laying of fresh asphalt on existing asphalted roads.”Or where in the entire country is 350metres of road is done at the cost of N509 million as being done by the Oyo State government? If you divide N509 million by 350 meters, you get N1.45 million per meter. Meaning one meter (size of one black board ruler) is N1.45 million? That is outrageous and fraudulent. It is pure thievery.”
