AKP deputy who said 'I am a tradesman' sold sandbags to the TSK

AKP Gaziantep Deputy Mehmet Eyup Özkeçeci has been revealed to have sold millions of liras worth of sandbags to the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).

According to data published in the Public Procurement Bulletin, the Land Forces Command 11th Main Supply Center Command held a tender on July 1, 2025, for the procurement of 1 million 130 thousand sandbags. It was announced that the Gaziantep-based company Ünal Sentetik Dokuma Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. won the tender under the contract and that a payment of 6 million 581 thousand TL would be made to the firm. It was stated that the delivery would be carried out in two separate batches to the Martyr First Lieutenant Hasan Şahan Barracks in Ankara.

HE HAD SAID "I AM A TRADESMAN"

According to a report by İsmail Arı from Birgün, the owners of the company that won the sandbag tender include AKP Gaziantep Deputy Mehmet Eyup Özkeçeci and his family members. Confirming in a previous statement that he had received millions of liras in tenders from the public sector, the AKP deputy had drawn attention with the words, "I am a tradesman."

24 SEPARATE TENDERS, 365 MILLION TL

It was noted that Özkeçeci's company received a total of 24 tenders from public institutions between 2011 and 2025. The value of these tenders reaches 365 million TL. Among the institutions that awarded the most work are the General Directorate of Turkish Coal Enterprises (TKİ), the General Directorate of Turkish Sugar Factories (Türkşeker), and Çaykur.

AID SCANDAL DURING THE EARTHQUAKE PERIOD

AKP deputy Özkeçeci's name also came to the agenda with controversies during the February 6, 2023 earthquakes. It was revealed that many aid materials, such as generators, electric heaters, and mobile phone chargers, which citizens had collected to send to the earthquake zone, were taken to the "Ünal Sentetik Dokuma" factory owned by Özkeçeci, who was the AKP Gaziantep Provincial Chairman at the time, after arriving in Gaziantep.

Özkeçeci, who left his post as Provincial Chairman before being elected as a deputy, confirmed that the aid in question was moved to the factory, saying, "Yes, we took the aid to our factory. They were all aid from private citizens. At that time, everyone opened their homes to store aid. Our fair center was full of aid, so we opened our home (factory) as well. There is no aid left now, we sent them all to those in need."

News Source: 12punto