The Center for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, has called on President Tinubu to initiate an investigation into the allegations made by the chairman of Ijebu East Local Government Council, Wale Adedayo, regarding the diversion of Federation Account Allocation Committee funds to local government areas by Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State.
Adedayo, in a recent letter, accused Governor Abiodun of misappropriating the FAAC funds meant for local government areas in Ogun State. He claimed that instead of utilizing the funds for the development and welfare of the communities, the governor rerouted them for his political patronage.
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To these serious allegations, CACOL has called on President Tinubu to intervene and ensure an independent and transparent investigation into the matter.
In a letter made available to Freelanews and signed by the CACOL chairman, Debo Adeniran, earlier today, the body is urging the President to initiate disciplinary action if the allegations are found to be true, in order to send a strong message that corruption will not be tolerated at any level of governance.
Adeniran believes that if these allegations are proven true, it is a clear violation of the trust placed in Governor Abiodun by the people of Ogun State.
The embattled local government chairman also accused the governor of neglecting the 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs) Chairmen who came on board in 2021, stating that they have not received any federal allocations since their tenure began. Additionally, he alleged that the constitutionally mandated 10% share of the state Internally Generated Revenues meant for the LGAs has not been provided.
Furthermore, Adedayo claimed that the governor never allocated any funds from the President Muhammad Buhari intervention to states and local governments, despite the 20 LGAs being entitled to approximately 10 billion naira. He also mentioned that funds intended for Ecology management, allocated in the name of the LGAs, did not reach them.
Another accusation leveled against the governor is the takeover of revenue sources belonging to the LGAs, including Motor Parks and Primary schools, by the state government under the leadership of Prince Dapo Abiodun. This action is alleged to be a continuation of what Senator Ibikunle Amosun had initiated.
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Read full letter below.
INVESTIGATE ALLEGATIONS MADE BY MR. WALE ADEDAYO, CHAIRMAN, IJEBU EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT COUNCIL ON DIVERSION OF STATUTORY, FEDERATION ACCOUNT ALLOCATION COUNCIL (FAAC) FUNDS TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS BY GOVERNOR DAPO ABIODUN OF OGUN STATE
We are constrained as one of the vibrant, civic trenches, anti-corruption watchdogs in the country and a major player, social stakeholder in monitoring of Nigeria’s initiatives at meeting up global standards on probity, accountability, transparency, constitutionalism in public service, to seek the urgent intervention of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and well meaning Nigerians in the unfolding anti-democratic aberrations over diversion of statutory allocations from the Federal Account Allocation Committee, FAAC to Local Government Councils in Ogun State. The attendant, deployment of State apparatus of coercion to unconstitutionally suspend a democratically elected Chairman and harass him to suppress truth from public domain forebodes ugly omen for Democracy in the country.
Our concern is fueled by our deep, scientific understanding of this seemingly innocuous democratic slights which we know would provoke fatal consequences on our democratic voyage as well as, if not promptly contained, destabilize the polity generally. We do not consider it as an isolated occurrence in an obscure Ijebu East Local Government Area, rather the symptomatic seeping through of a malignant tumor with devastating consequences. It touches on the foundation of democratic governance – financial solvency to deliver on social mandates of electorates at the grassroots; deployment of State apparatus of coercion, an inadvertent invitation to self help instead of approaching the court to address disagreements – a process that could inevitably embolden if not inspire armed usurpations of our democratic space.
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 plead 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 infractions 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 same call, Prince Abiodun is becoming a bare faced, practitioner of double speak in deeds.
He alleged that since 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 is 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 have 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 have inputs of stakeholders, it has been faithfully doing 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 talents of revered elders, statesmen and well-meaning influencers who can wield their clouts to interrogate the Hum 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 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 ploy to silence the Anti graft, whistleblowing Chairman, but the process runs foul 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 dis robed of his rights by the lagic 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 take overs.
Yours in service to humanity.
Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.
