PDP slams Aiyedatiwa as lawmakers receive ₦200m for phone calls

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PDP slams Aiyedatiwa as lawmakers receive ₦200m for phone calls

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State has criticized Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa over the recently signed 2025 state budget, calling it a “budget of looting” due to what it describes as wasteful and questionable allocations.

Governor Aiyedatiwa signed the ₦698.6 billion budget into law a week after it was approved by the state House of Assembly. The budget allocates ₦265.04 billion for recurrent expenditure and ₦433.62 billion for capital projects.

However, the PDP has raised concerns about the transparency of the spending plan, particularly calling attention to allocations it deems excessive. Among these, the party highlighted ₦200 million allocated for lawmakers and ₦280 million for the Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly for “phone expenses,” labeling them as extravagant and unnecessary.

In a statement issued on Tuesday by its Publicity Secretary, Kennedy Peretei, the opposition party referred to the budget as a “Budget of Looting,” contrasting it with Governor Aiyedatiwa’s description of it as a “Budget of Recovery.”

The PDP also questioned the allocation of ₦11.5 billion to the Ministry of Finance under the category of “security vote,” asserting that such an amount is unjustifiable and raises concerns about transparency. The party pointed out the confusion surrounding the allocation, noting that no budget experts could explain why the Ministry of Finance was assigned a “security vote,” which is separate from the one the Governor personally receives each month.

The opposition party also criticized the relatively low allocations for critical sectors like education and healthcare, with ₦77.02 billion for education and ₦46.02 billion for healthcare, calling them insufficient for substantial progress in these areas.

The PDP has urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate what it describes as the “brazen looting” embedded in the budget.

However, the Ondo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) dismissed the PDP’s accusations as unfounded and a distortion of the facts. In a statement by its Director of Media and Publicity, Steve Otaloro, the APC argued that the budget was structured to drive economic growth and development in the state. Otaloro suggested that the PDP’s criticism stemmed from bitterness over losing the last governorship election, and he emphasized that the allocations aligned with the state’s development priorities.

The ongoing debate underscores the growing divide between the ruling APC and the opposition PDP, raising questions about the prioritization of funds amid ongoing economic challenges in the state.

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