On Tuesday, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu, urged the Ogun State House of Assembly to begin the impeachment process of Governor Dapo Abiodun over alleged withholding of local government funds from the federal allocation if found guilty.
Adebutu, who spoke through his media aide, Afolabi Orekoya, said the governor had contravened a section of the Constitution as regards the diversion of funds allocated to council areas and must be punished for the act.
The Nigerian Tribune recalled that the Chairman of Ijebu East Local Government, Hon. Adewale Adedayo, on Sunday wrote to the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba, urging him to convince Abiodun of the need to release funds allocated to the 20 local government areas from the government at the Centre.
He hinted that local government areas in the state had been on zero allocation since 2021 when they were elected into offices
Adedayo also petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practises Commission (ICPC), calling for the governor’s investigation.
Adebutu said, “The local government chairman has also written a letter to the Speaker of the House of Assembly, and we believe that the Speaker will not sweep the letter under the carpet because he is one of the team members of the governor.
“This is purely an impeachable offence; if this is found to be true, it is an impeachable offence, and we are really watching the House of Assembly members to see how they are going to follow this through and to see their action and steps they will take when this letter is brought to the floor of the House.
“Thank God we are not having the usual rubber stamp House of Assembly in Ogun State now. We have very responsible, very committed members of the PDP who are also in the House of Assembly now, and I’m sure from what we have heard from our members this morning, they are already taking steps to ensure that the Rule of Law is being followed on this matter.
“We believe that he will bring the letter out and read it on the floor of the House, and we believe the members of the House will do the needful”.
Adebutu noted that the local government chairman’s outburst has confirmed his allegation of diversion of N153 billion in local government funds by Abiodun.
He also called on the anti-graft agencies to investigate Abiodun for allegedly embezzling local government funds.
Meanwhile, the State Government said that the Prince Dapo Abiodun-led 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.
The government, in its reaction to a letter credited to the Chairman of Ijebu East Local Government, Mr Wale Adedayo, alleging zero revenue allocation to local governments in the state since 2021, said it had never tampered with local government funds.
It wondered how adding to the funds allocated to the local councils to enable them to meet their obligations amounted to hijacking their funds.
It said that funds meant for local governments in the state are being handled by the constitutionally recognised Joint Account and Allocation Committee (JAAC).
In a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the state governor, Mr Lekan Adeniran, the government said that JAAC members ensure that the third tier of government gets the required allocations for optimal performance.
It was noted that the latest meeting of the JAAC was held last week and was widely reported in the media.
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