Yusuf Oketola
A total sum of N58.42billion was reportedly paid to all the 30 Local Governments of the State of Osun by the Federal Government in 2022.
According to a report by an Abuja based online platform, The Street Journal, the amount was part of the local governments’ share from the Federal Allocation Account for the year.
The report stated that all the 774 local governments in the country received a total sum of N2.02trillion as their allocations in 2022.
However, a civil society group in the State of Osun, People Against Corruption and Injustice, has questioned how the N58.42bn allocated to Osun was spent, saying that there is nothing to show for the huge amount in all the local governments.
Chairman of the group, Comrade Emmanuel Olowu, said development level in each of the local government was not proportionate to the billions of naira accruable to them in the year under review.
Olowu said: “There is no justification for the huge amount received by the local governments in 2022. Any person justifying that the N58.42billion federal allocation to all the local governments in Osun commensurate with the level of development in the LGs areas deserved to be arrested.
“We need to ask if the local government enjoyed autonomy under the last administration of Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, for the LGs to plan and spent their funds for development purpose.
“The said N58.42billion was not properly injected to the development of our various local governments in the state
“As of today, local governments in the state do not carry out capital projects like road construction, building of healthcare, market development and other independently.
“It was the state government that was spending the local government funds and that it why there is nothing to show for the huge amount of money accruable to them LGs.
“We need to probe how the N58.42billion was spent because the level of development in each of the local government is not proportionate to the amount received in the year under review.”
