The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL) has called for an immediate investigation into the alleged diversion of local government funds in Ogun State by Governor Dapo Abiodun’s administration.
CACOL made the call in a letter to President Bola Tinubu, which was dated September 02, 2023, and signed by its chairman, Debo Adeniran.
Ijebu East Local Government chairman, Wale Adedayo in a letter addressed to a former governor, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, accused Governor Abiodun of withholding more than N17 billion statutory Federal Allocation due to the local governments in the last two years..
On Thursday, seven councillors of the local government led by their leader, Fasheyi Adesuji, from Itele Ward 7, amid tight security suspended the embattled council boss for three months over what it described as “maladministration and financial mismanagement”.
Commenting on this situation, CACOL demanded the immediate intervention of President Tinubu and other well-meaning Nigerians on the matter.
The statement reads in part: “It should be noted that this emergent travesty of democratic tenets was triggered by a letter written by Mr. Wale Adedayo, democratically elected Chairman of Ijebu East Local Government Area Council of Ogun State to one of the leaders of the ruling party and former Governor of the State, Chief Olusegun Osoba.
“In the said letter, Mr. Adedayo pleaded with Chief Osoba to intervene and prevail on the Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun to allow Federal statutory allocations to reach each of the Twenty (20) local councils in the State. In the first place, if there is an infraction or constitutional diversion of a statutory allocation, we strongly believe it should be an item in the public space where appropriate anti-graft enforcement agencies must necessarily discharge their duties. It should not be just for intra-party conciliation.
“To the consternation of all well-meaning Democrats and in grotesque distortions of qualities befitting saner climes however, a charade was choreographed and widely publicized where some unscrupulous Council Chairpersons went prostrating before a feudal-Emperor styled Governor, begging for same statutory allocations while distancing themselves from the missive of Mr. Wale Adedayo!
“Adedayo has made grievous allegations that despite campaigning in 2019 on the pledges of allowing full financial autonomy for local government administration and supporting the same call, Prince Abiodun is becoming a bare-faced, practitioner of doublespeak in deeds. He alleged that since the assumption of office in 2021, the FAAC monthly disbursements to the State have always been pooled into a central, State Allocation Account Committee, SAAC, from where salaries and other dues are paid, leaving the local governments in the State with Zero-Allocations.
“He said that SAAC even controls local government statutory revenues from motor parks, market levies without counterpart 10% funding from the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). He said that the councils have no receipts for N10 billion palliatives to the State and Local Government by former President Muhammed Buhari, Ecological Funds.
“It is worth noting that Your Excellency approved N790 billion out of N1.9 trillion from FAAC to be shared as Infrastructural Support Funds, it benumbs the minds how this could effectively percolate to the grassroots if statutory allocations to the Local Government Areas are cornered by State Governors.
“We are thus, agitated and bemoan the fact that the Council is rendered impotent to provide much-needed facilities for its teeming rural dwellers especially road network for transportation of their agricultural, farm products, primary healthcare facilities and portable water to stem tides of common diseases. Local Government administration in Ogun State has been virtually paralysed by this unconstitutional act of the Governor.
“Though the State Government claimed that it augments FAAC allocations for the local governments to meet their obligations. It claimed that, through the State Account Allocation Committee, SAAC which has inputs of stakeholders, it has been faithfully discharging its monthly fiduciary responsibilities to the Local Government Councils in the State.
“If these were true, a cursory examination of the books by relevant agencies would have revealed its veracity. Ogun State is abundantly blessed with the talents of revered elders, statesmen and well-meaning influencers who can wield their clouts to interrogate the truism of facts by both parties and settle this fire ranging on the mountain before downhill spills.
“The other dangerous manifestation from the Ijebu East Chairman’s cry out is implication of unconstitutional deployment of State coercive apparatus. Detachment of combined, armed security personnel suddenly took over the Ijebu East Local Government Secretariat, thereby preventing the normal running of the Council. In the fray, a secret session of some Councilors held, raised allegations of financial improprieties against the Chairman and without any iota of fair hearing proceeded to place Mr. Wale Adedayo on three months suspension. This does not only stink of a ploy to silence the anti-graft, whistleblowing Chairman, but the process runs afoul of all democratic principles and injunctions.
“More importantly, history abounds with instances of when civilian authority conspiratorially engages military forces to bottle constitutional, democratic rights of citizens, or deploy them in power conspiracies as is unfolding in Ijebu East, it usually emboldens the military with allurements of power to take over reins of Government.
“As we go to press, there are reports of Mr. Wale Adedayo being held incommunicado by operatives of the Department of State Security Services, DSS. These are all condemnable return to the antics of the dark days of military autocracy. We should be wary of the deployment of State terror force to resolve purely, civil matters in a democratic clime. If a democratically elected Chairman can be disrobed of his rights by the logic of force, this can happen to the State Governor and any elected public officer too.
“We at the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, emphatically call on you, who thus far, has displayed exemplary statesmanship at listening to the voice of reason, to urgently wade into this matter before the aberration becomes a precedent. Nigeria cannot set anti-democratic examples in a continent battling with spikes of military takeovers.”