Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has said his administration has often had to augment the funds allocated to local governments in the state from the Federation Account to enable them to meet their obligations.
Abiodun spoke in wake of the allegations by the Chairman of Ijebu East Local Government, Wale Adedayo, that zero revenue allocation to local governments in the state since 2021.
Adedayo lamented that LG chairmen have been unable to execute projects in the last two years, and asked Chief Olusegun Osoba, former governor of the state, to urgently wade in, and convince Abiodun to allow “the statutory Federal Allocation to Local Governments in Ogun State should be allowed to reach each of them as envisaged by the 1999 Constitution
The Council boss elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) like Abiodun, also wrote to the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), calling for the investigation of the governor over alleged diversion of local government funds.
Alleged LG fund diversion: Impeach Abiodun if found culpable, Adebutu tells Ogun Assembly
‘Abiodun hijacking Ogun LGs fund’, Council Chairman writes Osoba
According to him, Abiodun has not paid a dime to Local government accounts as Federal allocation in the last two years.
Adedayo in separate petitions to EFCC and ICPC on Tuesday called for the urgent intervention of the anti-graft agencies.
But the governor, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Lekan Adeniran, 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 funds meant for local governments in the state were being handled by the constitutionally recognised Joint Account and Allocation Committee (JAAC).
The governor said JAAC members ensure that the third tier of government gets the required allocations for optimal performance.
He said “The latest meeting by the JAAC was held last week, and was widely reported in the media.
“At the meeting, which was held at the Conference Hall, Oba’s Complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, over N5bn was shared among the 20 local government areas, out of which over N2 billion went into paying teachers.
“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 the month of August,” the statement read.
The JAAC, according to him, comprises major stakeholders in local government administration, including the Chief Economic Adviser to the governor, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Accountant General of the State, Permanent Secretary, Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, all 20 local government chairmen, one representative from each of the four Traditional Councils in the state, representative of SUBEB, NULGE, local govt pensioners, retired primary school teachers, Local Government Service Commission, Local Government Pension Commission and NUT.
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