Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of Osun State has revealed that the surveillance helicopter belonging to Osun State is currently grounded but undergoing mechanical repairs.
Governor Oyetola made this disclosure as he featured in the BBC Yoruba gubernatorial debate in Osogbo on Thursday.
The governor, who explained that the helicopter was undergoing technical overhaul, added that the challenge the State government was facing is the amount that will be expended on its repair..
“The helicopter owned by Osun State for security surveillance is undergoing repair but the challenge we have is that the amount we will use to repair it can buy new one, so we are in the dilemma to take a decision on this,” he said.
The Osun State Government had under the administration of Rauf Aregbesola purchased the said helicopter with N500,000.000.00 for the purpose of tackling the insecurity in the State.
The helicopter purchase did not go without generating controversy across the State, as some people alleged that the helicopter was being put to personal use by the then governor and members of his family.
Some others were of the opinion that the helicopter had been sold immediately after the tenure of Rauf Aregbesola.
The issue regarding the surveillance helicopter was raised by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke during the debate.
Other gubernatorial candidates at the debate were Lasun Yusuff of the Labour Party, Akin Ogunbiyi of the Accord Party and Goke Omigbodun of the Social Democratic Party.