…as secret police delay council boss’ interrogation, renders him incommunicado
Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, on Friday, met with the suspended Chairman of Ijebu East Local Government Area, Hon Wale Adedayo, who’s currently in the custody of the Department of State Services in Abeokuta, the state capital.
DSS had on Friday detained the embattled council chairman, who accused Governor Abiodun of diverting statutory Federal Allocation due to the state’s local governments in the last two years.
The secret police, it was learnt, has refused to interrogate Adedayo who arrived at their state office near the Governor’s office, Oke-Imosan, Abeokuta, at about 11:45 am on Friday, following an invitation they sent to him. The DSS is said to have deliberately kept the embattled council chairman incommunicado for several hours “to first wear him out psychologically.”
But a little while after Adedayo’s arrival at the DSS office, Governor Abiodun drove into the secret police facility and later met with the suspended chairman at the operations desk.
The Governor was said to have left the DSS at about 4pm, several hours after he arrived at the facility and met with the embattled council chairman in custody.
It was learnt that Adedayo was earlier taken into custody by the DSS, which confiscated his phones and has refused to allow him access to them.
DSS operatives were also said to have chased away those who had accompanied Adedayo to the secret police office.
According to Adedayo, he decided to honour the DSS’ invitation and would also later appear before the State House of Assembly over the matter.
Recall that the embattled council chairman had in a letter to elder statesman, Chief Olusegun Osoba, and a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission raised the alarm and demanded the investigation of Governor Abiodun over alleged mismanagement of local government funds.
Adedayo was subsequently suspended by councillors while the Governor denied the allegation.
Meanwhile, Ogun State House of Assembly, on Friday, barred journalists from covering the probe of alleged diversion of Local government funds.
The Assembly had directed the state Accountant General, Babatunde Aregbesola and all members of the State Joint Account Allocation Committee to appear before it on Friday.
Following the Ijebu East Local Government Chairman’s letter, Speaker of the Assembly, Olakunle Oluomo, summoned the state Accountant General and JAAC members to appear before the House to explain how LG funds have been expended in the State.
Adedayo was also expected to appear before the House on Friday. But when journalists arrived at the Assembly on Friday, security operatives at the gate of the complex stopped journalists from gaining access to the Assembly complex in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
All efforts to reach the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Segun Kaka we’re unsuccessful as he didn’t pick calls put across to him and didn’t also reply to text messages sent to him.
Recall that over 100 policemen and thugs on Thursday morning stormed the secretariat of the Ijẹbu-East Local Government Area, while some councillors formed a quorum to suspend the embattled council chairman from office.
Adedayo had accused Governor Abiodun of withholding the statutory Federal Allocation due to local government councils in the state in the last two years. He alleged that Abiodun had not paid anything to Local government accounts as Federal allocation in the last two years.
In separate petitions to EFCC and ICPC on Tuesday, Adedayo called for the urgent intervention of the anti-graft agencies.
The council boss in the petition also accused Governor Abiodun of denying the local government chairmen of the Ecological fund and other entitlements due to them.
The petition partly read, “Your urgent intervention is sorely needed to convince the Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, that the statutory Federal Allocation to Local Governments in Ogun State should be allowed to reach each of them as envisaged by the 1999 Constitution.
“Since we (Ogun State Local Government Chairmen) got on board in 2021, it has been ZERO Federal Allocation to each local government. 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. You may want to deploy the instruments of your office to confirm the veracity of my claim as well.
“Former President Muhammadu Buhari assisted the states and Local Governments with what we call palliatives today. They called it, SURE-P. The first sent to the 20 local governments in Ogun State was N2.5 billion. The second one was, N2.6 billion.
“The third was, N2.8 billion, while the fourth shortly before Buhari left office was N2.9 billion. Not a dime of these funds was released to ANY local government in Ogun State.
“The Ogun State Executive Committee of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria had a meeting with the Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Dapo Okubadejo, early this year.
“The Commissioner claimed that the 20 local governments owe the Ogun State Government N17 billion, which they continue to deduct. But I know for a fact that my Ijebu East Local Government is NOT owing Abeokuta one Naira! Kindly use your good offices to verify this fact.
“We have also heard about Ecological funds and others. These have developed wings too without trace. It is certain that the current one being packaged by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu may likely follow the same course.
“And, we are the ones the people will abuse. I am the butt of jokes in my local government right now, with many saying one is incompetent. Meanwhile, the Federal Government regularly made these funds available, but it has NEVER been disbursed to us since we were sworn in.
“Truly, denying local governments their due Federal Allocations in Ogun State began during the Administration of former Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun. And, as it is happening today, it was based on a spurious claim of helping some local governments, who may not be able to fulfil their obligations to the people because of financial challenges.
“Thus, all the funds are regularly collected into a central purse from where salaries and other dues are paid. Whatever is left is often claimed by the State Government as debts being paid by the local governments.
“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 the revenue sources of the local government? How do they want the grassroots to breathe? In Ijebu East Local Government Area, we have 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.”