Socialist party of Nigeria, SPN, Oyo State chapter, has said upgrading of farm settlement, procurement of farm equipment and improvement of infrastructural development, upon which both the N7.5 billion and N10 billion were procured by the state government can actually be achieved without necessarily compounding the outrageous debt burden under which the state groans at this present time.
The party in a statement signed by the state secretary Comrade Ayodeji Adigun”This is actually possible, if the outrageous security vote Governors award to themselves is scrapped and the sum is added to the pool of fund at the disposal of the state such that same is committed and invested on the areas of needs of the working people in the state.”
“Other means to ensure that adequate resources and fund are made available to the state in order to carry out its obligation and duties also include the need to place the political office holders on the salaries and allowances earned by the civil servants, to stop leakages as well as to end the regime of corrupt and costly contract system and replace it with a public work programme under which the ministry of Works will be equipped with adequate equipment, machineries, expertise and manpower to undertake mass public works like mass building of schools, hospitals, roads, mass housing, water-works, mass electrification, etc. “
The release read further that ; “ Contract system has been one of the crucial means through which pro-capitalist government pilfer away several billions of naira, and throw the state into needless debt crisis of billions of naira.”
“SPN equally holds that the democratic control of all of the resources and funds at the disposal of the state by elected committee of workers and community people, is very important so as to ensure that they are judiciously invested in areas of needs of the people. If Seyi Makinde government is unable to implement all these measures that will help free up resources for the benefit of the vast majority of Oyo working people, it is because of its pro-capitalist character and orientation.”
“However, the SPN doubts the possibility that the investment of the N7.6billion loan on the upgrading of the farm settlement will translate to a sustainable development that will lead to improvement in the living condition of the working people. This is because the Seyi Makinde-led regime has revealed that the so called investment will be based on the pro-capitalist policy of public private partnership, PPP. From experiences PPP mean using public resources for private profit. So under this kind of ruinous pro-capitalist policy of PPP, the priority will be to first satisfy the profit interest and greed of the business owners. This will definitely be at the expense of the interest and desire of the poor citizens for an improvement in their living condition.”
“Therefore, it is only a government run on the basis of a socialist programme that is capable to of guaranteeing that any investment of public fund on the area of needs is translated to a sustainable development that will always reflect in the improvement in the living condition of the poor but working people. It is in the light of this, SPN will like to deepen its call on all oppressed working people in the state to join SPN and help us to build it towards an enthronement of a socialist government whose existence will be primarily focused on how to bring a significant improvement to the living and working condition of workers, youths and masses in the state!”
