29th August, 2023
By Adejoke Adeleye, Ogun
The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023 election, Oladipupo Adebutu said the recent outbursts by the Local government Chairman of Ijebu East, Olawale Adedayo over an alleged diversion of councils’ funds by the government of Governor Dapo Abiodun has vindicated him.
The governorship candidate said this through his media consultant, Mr Afolabi Orekoya in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital while responding to the claim by the local government chairperson.
Orekoya stated that the letter written by Wale Adedayo to Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and Economic Financial Crime Commission(EFCC) has brought to fore the stand of Adebutu that the state government has been diverting funds belonging to the local governments since 2021.
He added that this had led to the local government areas being rendered redundant by the Abiodun administration, while people at the grassroots could not feel the dividend of democracy.
“We are glad to witness the recent happenings in Ogun state, particularly the outburst of a local government chairman, a serving local government Chairman of Ogun state, Ijebu East Local Government chairman, Hon Adedayo Olawale who had always been standing with the truth and has vindicated Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu who has always been saying the LG funds belonging to the 20LGAs have been diverted as at 2021.
“He further said the situation have left the 20 local governments in the state redundant They could not perform. There was no way they could have reached out to the people at the grassroots level. And of course, he said that was why they lost in the last elections.
“This is what we have been saying that Dapo Abiodun should not have been declared winner of the last election, So, we are now beginning to see where the funds they were using to do all the things they were doing during the election were coming from.
“The money that was meant to be used by the local government to make the lives of the people better was diverted to buy votes. Well, if you go around the states, all the trunk roads, local roads are in terrible state. Look at all the markets that are meant to bring succor for the people at the grassroots.
The farmers do not have opportunity to bring their goods from the farm to the market. Then what do we expect? And of course, the local government chairman, they are just there, sitting down, warming the benches at their respective local governments. So we are very, very glad that this is coming up from a serving local government chairman”, he said
Adedayo, a serving local government chairman under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) had accused Governor Dapo Abiodun of consistently diverting the statutory federal allocation due to the state’s Local Governments in the last two years.
Adedayo, in a letter written to former Governor, Chief Olusegun Osoba, on Sunday, and obtained by our correspondent alleged that over N10.8bn fund of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme was also diverted by the governor.
The LG boss claimed that the 10 per cent of the state’s Internally Generated Revenue, which the constitution also stipulated should go to the local government has not been given since Abiodun reportedly got into office.
While attributing the diversion of funds as a key reason the APC lost some of the councils in the last general election, Adedayo urged Osoba to convince Governor Dapo Abiodun to allow the Federal statutory allocation to reach each of the councils.