By Nurat Uthman
On Tuesday night, all 20 Local Government Chairmen in Ogun State gathered at the Office of the State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, to seek his forgiveness on behalf of one of their colleagues, Chairman Wale Adedayo of Ijebu East Local Government.
Adedayo had accused the governor of withholding the allocations of the local governments.
In a surprising turn of events, the Chairmen prostrated and begged the governor for forgiveness. Led by the ALGON Chairman, Babatunde Emilola-Gazal, the Chairmen arrived at the governor’s office in Abeokuta and pleaded for forgiveness.
A viral video clip of the meeting captured the ALGON Chairman asking for forgiveness on behalf of Adedayo and his colleagues who had signed the petition.
Emilola-Gazal stated, “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.” He then prostrated along with the others before the governor.
Governor Abiodun responded by declaring that he had always fulfilled his responsibilities as the governor with sincerity. It is worth noting that Adedayo had accused the governor of withholding the local governments’ allocations. Adedayo expressed his frustration that the Chairmen had been unable to carry out any projects in the past two years and urged former Governor Olusegun Osoba to intervene and persuade Abiodun to release the statutory Federal Allocation to the Local Governments in Ogun State as mandated by the 1999 Constitution.
Adedayo also filed petitions with the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), calling for an investigation into the governor’s alleged diversion of local government funds. He claimed that Abiodun had not deposited any Federal allocation into the local government accounts in the past two years.
In his petition dated August 28, 2023, Adedayo accused the governor of denying the local government chairmen access to the Ecological fund and other entitlements. He stated that the State Government had taken over revenue sources that should benefit the local governments, such as motor parks and their associated dues, which are now managed centrally by the State Government. Adedayo also claimed that the administration and control of primary schools had been taken away from the local governments.
Part of the petition reads: “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. Why have they taken over revenue sources of the local government? How do they want the grassroots to breathe?
“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!
“Be assured that I am readily available to answer any question about what I have written here,” he said.
But the governor in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Lekan Adeniran, on Tuesday, said he had never tampered with local government funds.
He wondered how adding to the funds allocated to the local councils to enable them to meet their obligations amounted to hijacking their funds.
Abiodun said that funds meant for local governments in the state are being handled by the constitutionally recognized Joint Account and Allocation Committee (JAAC).
The governor said that JAAC members ensure that the third tier of government gets the required allocations for optimal performance.
