LG Polls: Oyo Government approves funds for printing ballot papers

Ahead of the May 15 local government election in the state, the Oyo State Government has awarded the printing of customized ballot papers to the Nigeria Security Printing and Minting Plc, in Lagos.

The printing of the customised ballot papers, 2.6 million in number, at the rate of N100 per sheet, gives a cost of N260million. The addition of VAT and others stand at N19.5million, making a total of N279.5million.

This is as the government also approved the award of rebuilding a new state government lodge in Asokoro, Abuja, to give the state a distinct legacy, at a cost of N1.2billion under what is called the Alternative Project Funding Approach.

The decisions were reached at the weekly State Executive Council meeting which held at the Executive Chamber of the Governor’s office, Agodi Secretariat, Ibadan, on Tuesday.

Briefing the press after the meeting, the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Dr Wasiu Olatunbosun, said the government decided to award the printing of the electoral materials to a neutral body to show transparency, fairness and credibility.

Olatunbosun was flanked by commissioners, Professor Dahud Sangodoyin (Public Works and Transport), Mr Abiodun Abdulrahim (Lands, Housing and Urban Development) and the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Seyi Makinde, Mr Taiwo Adisa.

Olatunbosun said: “The printing of ballot papers for the forthcoming local government elections is given out to a reputable security and printing body, The Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Plc. In past elections, they used to make use of government printing press to print the ballot papers but, this time around, we want a third party to handle sensitive materials so that nobody will have access to the ballot papers.”

Also Read: NIN not mandatory for voter registration – INEC

In his remarks, Commissioner for Public Works and Transport, Dahud Sangodoyin said the new Oyo State Government House in Abuja would replace the old dilapidated one and the project, to be completed in six months, would cost the state N1,201,760,000, noting that the government would only commence payment two months after the job has reached 20 percent completion level.

Sangodoyin stated: “The Council considered a proposal for the construction of a new Governor’s Lodge located at No 2, John Kadiya Close, Asokoro, Abuja. The lodge has been there for a while and our government has noticed the dilapidated condition of the lodge. The new edifice will have the Governor’s Lodge, the Deputy Governor’s Lodge, some chalets, features and fittings and limited furniture which will be of modern type.”

The Commissioner for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Abiodun Abdulraheem, disclosed that the state government has approved the construction of two well-packaged Government Reservation Areas (GRAs) that can withstand the test of time, in Ibadan.

He said: “One of the two GRAs is Lere Adigun GRA behind BCOS and the other one is named after Senator Rasheed Ladoja. It is along Ibadan-Lagos Expressway, opposite Aramed a d we’ll be inviting applications on those two GRAs.”

Concerning the ongoing kicks trailing the decision of the state government to handover some lands at the state-owned Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS) to a private developer to create the Lere Adigun GRA, Abdulraheem assured that the government is in continuous talks with the management of the TV station to ensure that the interest of the workers is protected.

Workers at the BCOS have been threatening to shut down operations if the government continues with the plan to demolish its staff quarters presently a part of the land to be given to the developers.

Zainab Sa’id