Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, SSAP-SDGs
In all efforts to clean her office of corruption allegations that have been the subject of public discussion and to save her name, the Senior Special Assistant on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs), Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire has decided to go after one of the Nigerian journalists, Daniel Ojukwu, who works with an online news publication, Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ).
It would be recalled that on 7th November 2023, the news tabloid published a news story with the headline “SPECIAL REPORT: 2 Weeks Before End of Buhari’s Tenure, Special Assistant Adejoke Adefulire Paid a Restaurant N147.1m to Build Classrooms in Lagos. A Lot Was Amiss”.
The journalist alleged Princess Orelope-Adefulire of financial management of funds at the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, otherwise known as OSSAP-SDGs.
Meanwhile, the Office has described the news as a yellow kind of journalism that lacks substance as the allegation was only in the mind of the writer.
The recent arrest of Mr Daniel Ojukwu, a journalist with FIJ has sparked condemnation and reactions among Nigerians, who described the arrest as a strategy by Orelope-Adefulire to cage perceived threat in the Nigerian media.
This newspaper investigated why Mr Daniel Ojukwu was arrested after seven months the story was published.
Investigation revealed that Mr Daniel Ojukwu an FIJ journalist fell on the banana peel of Orelope-Adefulire.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior officer in OSSAP-SDGs described the story of the N147m scandal as mischievous and an attempt of blackmailing for selfish enrichment by the journalist Mr Daniel Ojukwu of FIJ, but unfortunately, he fell into the trap set up for him, which office would use to prove it case at court.
When asked why he took OSSAP-SDGs seven months before taking action, the officer said OSSAP-SDGa took it time before taking action because the management wanted to establish it before the good people of Nigeria that the journalist was out to blackmail the office and the head for self-enrichment.
It was gathered that what FIJ reported on the issue of Enseno Global Ventures Ltd, a restaurant doesn’t arise because the company is into other businesses such as construction and general supplies which makes the company qualified to handle contracts from OSSAP-SDGs.
The source further revealed that the project in question was located in Ajeromi/Ifelodun Local Government Area in Lagos State. An OSSAP-SDGs classroom project was commissioned by the Executive Chairman of Ajeromi/Ifelodun LGA, Hon. Fatai Adekunle Ayoola in August 2023
He added that project from the initial site can be changed by the Governor, local government chairman and even the members of National Assembly, but in this case, it was relocated by the chairman of Ajeromi/Ifelodun local government in a bid to ensure even distribution of projects in his local council, which complied with the practice at OSSAP-SDGs to change the location of project sites after it might have informed the state government or the local government where those projects are sited all over the country.
“The question is, did we execute the project? I want to say that indeed we renovated blocks of classrooms at Ajeromi/Ifelodun primary school. At the same time, we also carried out the construction of a resources/acquisition centre and the construction of six blocks of classrooms at Akarigbo primary school, all in Ajeromi/Ifelodun local government.
“One thing that is going positively for SSAP-SDGs, Prince Orelope-Adefulire is that she has been doing her jobs diligently with the fear of God. The responsibility bestowed on her by Mr President is so high and I believe she needs all support to succeed in this assignment rather than this blackmailing by the journalist.
“If truly FIJ was to do thorough investigative journalism as they claimed, why did the reporter look for financial inducement to pull down the story? Why can they request from the OSSAP-SDGs the locations of the project and other necessary documents before concluding whether the allegations were true or false? I can tell you that those who are showing their solidarity with the reporter are just noise makers and ignorant of what is happening.
“I want to assure that OSSAP-SDGs would prove to the whole world that the issue of financial mismanagement of funds is a mirage and cheap blackmail from mischievous people. I think by the time, the matter gets to the court, the whole world will know the secret and how many of the so-called journalists have turned the noble job to be a tool of blackmailing and extortions,” the source said.
