The chairman of Ijebu East local government area of Ogun State, Mr. Wale Adedayo, has threatened to petition the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, ICPC, over alleged refusal of Ogun State governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, to release funds due to local governments in the state.
Adedayo made this known on Monday in a brief interview with FrontPage.
The petition to the anti-graft agencies will follow an earlier Save Our Soul letter Adedayo wrote to former governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba, over the same case.
In his letter to Osoba, Adedayo accused the governor of withholding the allocations due to the local governments from the Federal Account Allocation Committee, FAAC, thus impoverishing the people especially at the grassroots level.
He therefore called on Osoba for an urgent intervention in order to save the soul of the local governments and the people.
His words: “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, it 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 governments 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.”
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The local government chairman said the alleged refusal to release the funds were hinged on the claim of helping some local governments, which might not be able to fulfill their obligations to the people because of financial challenges.
Adedayo said as a result, all the funds were regularly collected into a central purse from where salaries and other dues were paid.
According to him, whatever that was left was often claimed by the state government as debts being paid by the local governments.
The letter reads further: “Truly, denying local governments their due Federal Allocations in Ogun State began during the Administration of former Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun. And, as it is happening today, it was based on a spurious claim of helping some local governments, who may not be able to fulfill their obligations to the people because of financial challenges. Thus, all the funds are regularly collected into a central purse from where salaries and other dues are paid. Whatever that is left is often claimed by the State Government as debts being paid by the local governments.
“Revenue sources, which the local governments should benefit from have mostly been taken over by the State Government. Motor Parks and attendant dues which should go to each local government are being centrally managed by the State Government. Primary school administration and control have been taken over too. There are many others. But, what I crave is for you to assist in helping our people.
“In Ijebu East Local Government Area, we are a complete rural section. 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!”
When contacted for the reaction of the state government over the letter, Mr. Lekan Adeniran, Chief Press Secretary to the state governor said that the reply to the claims by the local government boss would come soon.
