The Asset Recovery Committee of the Osun State Government says it has uncovered 55 more vehicles worth N1.5 billion which former officials allegedly carted away with at the end of the previous administration of former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola.
This comes barely 24 hours after a first batch of vehicles valued at about N2.9 billion in possession of Oyetola, his deputy, wife and other top officials were released to the public.
In response, Media Director of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun, Kola Olabisi, in a statement, said the former governor and his deputy were entitled to “certain privileges.”
He added that apart from the vehicles their offices permit them to take home, they never took any other item.
But the recovery committee, in an official statement by its Chairman, Dr Bashiru Salami, on Saturday, issued a new directive for the retrieval of another batch of vehicles numbering 55 with an estimated value of N1.5 billion.
“We have uncovered another batch of diverted vehicles numbering 55. Those in possession of those vehicles should return them forthwith,” he said.
It listed the vehicle models to include the following: Kia Sportage (40), Toyota Hilux, Prado Jeeps, Toyota Avensis, Nissan Pathfinder SUVs, Toyota Highlander, and Ford Transit (7), among others.
According to the panel, the ex-officials holding the affected vehicles include Oyetola’s commissioners and special advisers, head of service, and chief executives of some government agencies.
These categories of ex-officials are directed to return the vehicles in their possession before the administration triggers repossession operations, the committee chairman insisted.
