LG Chairman Accuses Gov Abiodun Of Diverting Over N10.8 Billion Council Funds, Others

The Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has been accused of diverting two years of statutory Federal Allocation due to the state’s Local Governments.

Naija News gathered that the allegation was leveled against the governor by the Chairman of Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State, Wale Adedayo.

According to him, over N10.8 billion from the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme was also diverted by the governor.

Adebayo alleged that the 10 per cent of the state’s Internally Generated Revenue, which is constitutionally due to the local government, has not been given since Abiodun reportedly got into office as governor.

A factor he said contributed to the loss of some All Progressive Congress (APC) council seats in the last general election.

The allegation was contained in Adebayo’s letter addressed to former Governor Chief Olusegun Osoba and sighted by The Punch.

The Ijebu East Local Government Area Chairman claimed that denying local governments their due Federal Allocations in the State began during the Administration of former Governor Senator Ibikunle Amosun.

Adebayo submitted in the letter, “This letter should have been written about two years ago. But I was wary of what many naive people would say about me. Besides, at your age and given the level of your selfless contributions to the development of our state and Nigeria in general, we expect you to be taking a well-deserved rest at this time.

“Your urgent intervention is sorely needed to convince the Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, that the statutory Federal Allocation to Local Governments in Ogun State should be allowed to reach each of them as envisaged by the 1999 Constitution. Since we (Ogun State Local Government Chairmen) got on board in 2021, there has been Zero Federal Allocation to each local government. The 10% of the state’s Internally Generated Revenue, which the Constitution also stipulated should go to the local government, has not been given since Abiodun got into office.

“Now, the negative consequences of Zero Federal Allocations to Local Government Councils in Ogun State should be clear for all to see. We should not have lost the last elections in all the places we did during the Governorship and House of Assembly polls if our local governments were being funded as provided for in the 1999 Constitution. I am not proud to say that we (Local Government Chairmen) have done very little or nothing since we were sworn in because the funds to work are being withheld by Mr. Governor.

“Former President Muhammadu Buhari assisted the states and Local Governments with what we call palliatives today. They called it SURE-P. The first sent to the 20 local governments in Ogun State was N2.5 billion. The second one was N2.6 billion. The third was N2.8 billion, while the fourth, shortly before Buhari left office, was N2.9bn. Not a dime of these funds was released to any local government in Ogun State. The Ogun State Executive Committee of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) had a meeting with the Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Dapo Okubadejo, early this year. The Commissioner claimed that the 20 local governments were owing the Ogun State Government N17 billion, which they continue to deduct. But I know for a fact that my Ijebu East Local Government is NOT owing Abeokuta one Naira!

“We’ve also heard about Ecological funds and others. These have developed wings, too, without trace. It is certain that the current one being packaged by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu may likely follow the same course. And we are the ones the people will abuse. I am the butt of jokes in my local government right now, with many saying one is incompetent.

“In Ijebu East Local Government Area, our people need roads, especially in the interior. They need water. The Health Centres are nothing to write home about. The primary schools are something else. It is a crying shame that, in 2023, some of our people still depend on water from the stream to drink! Great Awo provided pipe-borne water almost 60 years ago.”

This platform also learned that Adedayo has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the same allegations against the governor.

However, all efforts to reach Governor Abiodun’s camp for reactions failed, as his Chief Press Secretary, Lekan Adeniran, promised the platform to send a statement but had yet to do so, as at when this report was filed.