PDP Accuses Of Looting Osun LG Funds, Demands Account Disclosure
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State on Sunday, accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of diverting the withheld local government allocations, which have been reportedly paid by the federal government.
In a statement by its chairman, Sunday Bisi, PDP challenged the council Chairmen elected under the APC to publicly disclose the bank accounts and signatories that received the funds.
It would be recalled that the leadership of the Osun State chapter of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees had alleged the payment of the withheld allocations into the bank accounts of the APC chairmen.
However, the claim was debunked by the Osun APC, which said the money was paid into local government accounts.
Reacting to the APC’s claim, Bisi said the admission of receipt of local government allocations was an “admission of crime.”
The PDP contended that the ruling party had refused to clarify whether the funds went into legitimate council accounts or were misappropriated.
“Rather than engaging in name-calling and reckless propaganda against the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), we challenge the APC to come clean before the people of Osun State by publicly disclosing the exact bank accounts into which the local government allocations were paid and the signatories to those accounts,” the statement read.
Bisi alleged that statutory officers of all 30 local governments, the state accountant-general, the auditor-general for local governments, and the ministry of local governments were unaware of any such payments, raising serious questions about governance and transparency.
“The questions are simple: into which accounts were the allocations paid, and who are the signatories? We join NULGE, civil society, and the people of Osun in demanding full disclosure, or we will conclude that the APC and its leaders have staged the greatest heist in the history of Nigeria,” he added.
Olamilekan Adigun is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience in journalism embedded in uncovering human interest stories. He also prioritises accuracy and factual reportage of issues.
