Aregbesola’s church project and its controversy

FEMI MAKINDE writes that the Governor Rauf Aregbesola-led administration has ignited another round of controversy, for proposing to build an interdenominational Christian worship centre in Osun State

The Governor of Osun State, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, has again stirred the hornets nest with a proposal to build an interdenominational church auditorium in the state. Arebegsola, a devout Muslim, has been in the eye of the storm over allegations that he is trying to Islamise the state as evident in his educational policies.

Perhaps to put a lie to these assertions, his administration decided to acquire a large expanse of land at Odo Iju and Ibodi in Atakumosa West Local Government Area of the state, to build what it considers a befitting place of worship for Christians.

The opposition, armed with the argument that there should be separation of the church and the state, has come down hard on the governor. It has accused the governor of wasting scarce public resources in a vain attempt to score cheap political points.

Aregbesola, had hardly paid the N51m compensation to the land owners to enable the administration to build the interdenominational worship centre (to be known as Open Heaven Worship Centre), when Senator Iyiola Omisore, raised the alarm. Omisore, who is a contender for Arebegsolas job, was among the first set of people to criticise the compensation.

Omisore, a former deputy governor of the state under the defunct Alliance for Democracy, accused the governor of profligacy. According to him, the payment is also an attempt to divert the states resources preparatory to the forthcoming 2014 governorship poll. It is ironic that the strongest criticism of the planned Christian worship centre is coming from Omisore, who is a Christian.

Undeterred, the administration is forging ahead with the project. The state Commissioner for Lands, Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr. Muyiwa Ige, presented cheques to the farmers, who had crops on the land. He explained that the state government paid a total of N11m as compensation to 243 farmers, who lost their farmland to the ongoing construction of the MKO Abiola International Airport, Ido Osun in Egbedore Local Government Area of the state.

He also explained that the state government would not hesitate to compensate those with genuine documents on any property taken over in the cause of developing the state.

Omisore and his supporters are not convinced. They insist that the compensation being paid out is one of several ways the administration is devising to mop up funds to be used to rig the forthcoming governorship election. Omisore, in a statement by his Director of Media and Strategy, Mr. Diran Odeyemi, accused the governor of attempting to rig the coming poll using the states resources.

He described the proposed building of the Interdenominational Worship Centre, which he estimated would cost several billions of naira, as a misplacement of priority and sheer hypocrisy. According to him, the proposed worship centre is an attempt to siphon taxpayers money with no genuine concern for the welfare of the people of the state.

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Aregbesola’s church project and its controversy