By SEGUN AYINDE, ABEOKUTA
The Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun on Monday said that he requested for a bank loan from a bank in order to pay workers in the state for the month of May.
This was just as he promised not to probe the administration of the immediate past Governor, of the state, Senator Ibikunle Amosun.
Abiodun said that rather than focusing on the atrocities committed by the immediate past administration, he would focus on how his vision of good governance to move the state forward.
He spoke at the presidential lodge in Abeokuta while hold a meeting with the party leaders and stakeholders of the All Progressive Congress and other parties in the state.
According to him, his administration inherited little or no nothing from the Amosun’s government.
The Governor said ”We realized that it was 31st. And I intended to keep my end of the tripartite agreement. So, I called the Head of Service. I told him that we must pay salary. But he said to me, “You’re new in government and everybody understand that you just assumed office and we don’t have that expectation of you paying salary now. They (workers) will understand. There is very little or no money. We can talk to them.”
He noted, “But I told the HoS, “Either they are expectant or not, it is my promise to the people that salaries will be paid as at when due. So, I picked my phone and called my friends who are MDs at different banks. I told them I need to pay salaries and this is the little I have; almost nothing in the state account. I requested for a credit facility to allow me to pay over N7billion, which is the state wage bill. That day, my intention was that maybe one or two will oblige me, but the five banks that I called obliged.”
“I cannot begin to describe in the open to you the Ogun State that we inherited. I cannot begin to describe it to you. And I will not because I have made up my mind that publicly and privately, I will not discuss anything about the past administration. We have by far, too many things to do than to begin to go bogged down by what someone did or what he did not do. Or what he left behind.”
“We have resolved to draw the line and to move forward from there. We need to be focused. We are going to rebrand and relaunch the security trust fund.” he added.
