Abiodun Denies Diversion Of Ogun LG Funds, N10.8bn Bailout

…… As Ogun Council Chairmen Prostrate, Beg Gov Abiodun

Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, had denied the allegation that he was diverting the statutory Federal Allocation due to the state’s Local Governments in the last two years.

The governor said his administration had to augment the funds allocated to local governments in the state to enable the council chairmen to meet their obligations.

OSUN DEFENDER  reported that the Chairman of Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State, Wale Adedayo in a letter written to former Governor, Chief Olusegun Osoba accused the governor of diverting the statutory allocations and over ten billion naira fund of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme.

Adedayo claimed that the 10 per cent 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.

But the governor in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Lekan Adeniran on Tuesday, said the LGs fund is being handled by the constitutionally recognised Joint Account and Allocation Committee.

Abiodun maintained that the JAAC members ensure the council chairmen get the required allocations for optimal performance.

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He added that over N5bn was shared among the 20 local government areas in the state, at the JAAC’s meeting held a week ago.

He said, “Between May 2023 when the Governor was sworn in for the second term, and July 2023, the JAAC shared among 20 local governments N4.531b, N4.444b and N4.497b respectively on first line charges and just last week N5.2b was shared among the local governments for August.

“The JAAC has the mandate to meet every month to ensure that allocations to local governments are discussed and properly presented for fund allocation.”

Meanwhile, all the 20 Local Government Chairmen in the State on Tuesday night besiege the Office of the Governor to ask for his forgiveness on behalf of Adedayo.

In a dramatic turn of event, the Council prostrated and begged the governor for forgiveness.

The Chairmen led by the ALGON Chairman, Babatunde Emilola-Gazal, stormed the governor’s office in Abeokuta, and begged for forgiveness.

A short clip of the meeting which has gone viral showed the ALGON begging for forgiveness on behalf of his colleagues including Wale Adedayo, who wrote the petition.

Gazal said, “Your Excellency, we have come here to beg you as a father that you are, as a father of all in the state, we want you to forgive us.

“Your Excellency, if you don’t forgive us, who do we run to? So, on behalf of all of us, I am tendering this apology and in particular, on behalf of Wale Adedayo,” Emilola-Gazal said, and subsequently prostrated alongside others, before the governor.