Elected councillors of Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State on Thursday suspended the chairman, Hon. Wale Adedayo, barely 24 hours after 18 of his colleagues had joined him at Oke Mosan Governor’s Office to ask for Governor Dapo Abiodun’s forgiveness over his “zero allocations” allegation against the state’s chief executive.
Seven Councilors of the Council –
Hon. Fasheyi Akindele Adesuji
Leader of the House(Itele Ward 7), Hon. Bolutife Osunfisan, Deputy Leader (Imushin Ward 2), Hon. kemi Aliu (Chief whip, Imobi Ward 10), Hon. Adeniyi Adenuga(Imusin ward 1), Hon. Abass sidikat (Owu ward 5), Hon. Biyi Oguntubo (Imobi ward 9) and Hon. Rotimi Olubode Williams (Ajebandele ward 11), suspended Mr. Wale Adedayo for three months, citing maladministration and financial mismanagement as reasons for the suspension.
The Council legislators during their plenary said they received various allegations that needed to be investigated and passed resolutions directing Mr. Adedayo to first step aside and then to appear before it at its next sitting on Thursday, September 14, 2023.
Fifteen allegations were levelled against him and they include: withdrawal of N4million from LG account for empowerment in 2022, which never took place, wastage of N2million on Isese day on August 20, 2022, collection of duty tour allowance for the chairman and other top functionaries N260,000 in June 2023, another duty tour allowance for the chairman and other top officials engagement in Abeokuta to the tune of N250,000, also ratified in June 2023 as well as N426,000 purportedly spent on the production of report on 2020 Jigbo festival Ijebu East, while the Council government was even yet to be elected.
Also, he was accused of claiming N350, 000 for the inauguration of Women in Politics in Ijebu East in 2022 but the money was not released to the group in 2022, entertainment and other logistics expenses during the commissioning of Legislative Building totalling N350,000 on 18th of April 2023 and another entertainment on that same commissioning of the Legislative Building at N295,000 same day, 18th of April 2023.
Inability to account for over N2.5million left in the Project Account of the council by previous administration for the completion of a school at Kajola, Ogbere, using N8.2million naira to build 20 pieces of school chairs, not accounting for N20million allocation from the state and another N15million sent from the state without any project to show for it.
The Legislative Council resolutions read, “Having received the above allegations, there is need for thorough investigation by the House.
“The House hereby resolved as follows:
That the Chairman steps aside for the proper conduct of investigations.
“The Council Chairman, Hon. Wale Adedayo, is hereby suspended for three months pending the conclusion of the investigations and therefore directed to handover all the properties of the Council in his possession to the Vice Chairman, who will act as the Chairman during the suspension of the Chairman as provided in the 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
“The Council Chairman is directed to appear before the House on the next sitting of the House on Thursday, September 14, 2023.
“That the Council Treasurer, through the Head of the Local Government Administration (HOLGA) should furnish the financial/bank statement of the Council in the last two years, along with other relevant documents and vouchers as the House may require in order to aid investigations.
“That the above Resolutions be copied to the Governor of Ogun State and the Ogun State House of Assembly.”
Wale Adedayo Lied On Zero Allocations – Ogun LG Chairmen
Meanwhile, Local government chairmen in Ogun State on Tuesday denied the allegation that the state government had been diverting their funds, resulting in zero allocation to them.
This is even as Governor Dapo Abiodun said he was disturbed by the baseless allegation against him.
The council chairmen visited the governor on Tuesday night with Mr. Wale Adedayo, the Chairman of Ijebu East Local Government, who made the allegation, to tender unreserved apology, as they accepted that mistakes had been made.
Speaking at the meeting in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, attended by 18 out of the 20 chairmen, Governor Abiodun expressed surprise at the allegation, noting that rather than starving the local governments, he has made several interventions on their behalf to lessen their burden.
Prince Abiodun said he has always been supportive of the councils because they are an integral part in the march towards the development of the state.
He said: “Where there is no information, there is misinformation. When I read in the news media yesterday that I Adedapo Abiodun, the privileged Executive Governor of this State for the second term, is being accused of diverting funds meant for a local government. I say to myself perhaps it must be another Adedapo Abiodun and not me.
“God knows that this job, I am doing it with every iota of sincerity of purpose. I continue to ensure that I am guided by all the promises I made in the course of my journey to the governor’s office. I continue to remind myself that I am holding this public office in trust as a trustee for and on behalf of all sons and daughters of this state and I will continue to be dogged, irrevocably committed to developing every part of this state equitably and fairly.
“I will continue to respect that beside the state government, there is also another tier and we are charged with the responsibility of building the future of this State.
“So, I began to wander how could anyone possibly begin to imagine that I will divert funds meant for another tier of government when my party, the APC, had formed government 100 percent in that tier particularly. It is not as if I am trying to punish some council chairmen who are not in my party. State government, local government are all one family.”
He said his administration worked tirelessly to ensure the emergence of the council bosses and therefore could not engage in any act that could retard development at the grassroots.
He also disclosed that he, along with two other governors had impressed it on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to help with a separate intervention funds for the local governments.
“I know what I committed to ensuring that we are all successful when you were contesting either at the primary level or at the general elections. So how will I be able to explain to my conscience that having done all that, having vowed, having pledged, having been committed to the development of this State, as evidenced across the length and breath ow would I justify stifling the local government.
“I know what myself and two other governors advanced before our president in the last two weeks about the need for the Federal Government to provide separate interventions just for the local government. So naturally, I have been taken aback,” Abiodun said.
The governor acknowledged the place of disagreement in human relationship, but added that there should be roundtable discussions to find solutions to any vexed issues instead of resulting to misrepresentation and character assassination.
“Our preoccupation should be to continue to join hands together to build thefuture of this great state. I restate my commitment to ensuring that your tier of government is given all the support that you need to make the best of the opportunity that your people gave you. As you will be entering the last few months of your administration, it will be a joy and delight to ensure that you all have legacies that defines your tenure in office,” the governor assured.
Speaking earlier, Chairman of Ijebu-Ode Local Government, who also double as the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) Chairman in the state, Hon. Emilola Kazal, told the governor that the visit was to acknowledge the mistakes that were made and to beg for forgiveness.
Kazal acknowledged that the governor had at no time interfere in the distribution and sharing of local government funds from the federation account.
According to him, as the leader, the governor was bound to be insulted, but he must forgive and forget.
He said that the governor has been passionate about the development of the state, adding that no previous administration can claim the same success recorded across the state in the last four years.
The chairmen also acknowledged that in May, N4.5bn was shared by the 20 local governments. In June, N4.4bn was shared, while July also saw the sharing of N4.4bn. In August, N5.2bn was shared.
They also confirmed that during the Covid-19 pandemic, the governor was augmenting their allocation to the tune of N1bn monthly.
The chairmen admitted that because of insufficient fund from federation account, they have been unable to pay the mandatory Pay As You Earn (PAYE) to the state, and as a result, they are owning the state, several billions.
Speaking in an interview later, Kazal said all the grey areas in the contending issue have been resolved, adding that the meeting with the state officials provided the chairmen the opportunity to get briefing on what the state government has been doing to ensure smooth running of the council areas.
He said: “We are here to see the governor to discuss the grey areas and today, all sides are better off. We have seen the lighter sides of the grey areas and all those issues have been resolved amicably. The governor has assured us that local government will continue to witness development till the end of his tenure.”
