The last has not been heard of the N443 million bus scandal that has rocked the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs) headed by former deputy governor of Lagos and Senior Special Assistant to the president Bola Tinubu on Sustainable Development Goals, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire since this newspaper exclusively broke the scandal, concerned Nigerians and civil society organisations have been expressing their disappointment over the issue.

There has been concerns over the conditions of the buses reportedly supplied and delivered to some schools in the southwest of Nigeria by OSSAP-SDGs which are seen to be second-hand and rickety in January 2024 when the payment of over N443 million had been made since May 2021.

An anti-graft group, Zero Tolerance for Corruption has petitioned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), United Nations for Development Programme (UNDP), International Transparency, Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), Nigerian Human Rights and others asking them to come to the rescue of the students and calling for the prosecution of the people involved in the scandal.

The organisation demanded the removal of Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire and other top management of the agency.

In the petition signed and submitted to OSSAP-SDGs on Thursday, the president of the organization Mr Victor Enyinnaya described the action of Princess Orelope-Adefulire as wickedness to students of schools involved and diversion of public funds and property which breached the code of conduct of public office holders.

“Our organisation, Zero Tolerance for Corruption, is more concerned about the state of the rickety buses that were taken to the schools after the busses have been badly used for four years. We are also disturbed by the misappropriation and diversion of public funds and property.

“EFCC should investigate what happened to the new chassis buses bought in 2021 with taxpayers’ money which later turned into used and rickety buses when they were hurriedly delivered to the schools in January 2024. Were the buses diverted to private use in between the period?

“The United Nations should sanction the Head of OSSAP-SDGs, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire who supervised the distribution of these used and rickety buses to the schools in the name of fulfilling the mandate of the UN-SDGs Program to the Nigerian children and by also violating the Fundamental Human Rights of the Children.”