…Assembly lacks proper knowledge of governance at the grassroots — Osun ALGON
The Osun State House of Assembly on Sunday alleged that about N50billion from the local government area allocations has been diverted by the reinstated council executives of the All Progressives Congress (APC), which has exposed the grassroots to deterioration and hardship.
The Assembly, through the Speaker, Hon Adewale Egbedun, while addressing newsmen at the lawmaker complex, held that the alleged actions of the APC executives have further destabilised governance at the grassroots.
He reiterated that the Assembly, by the provision of law, has oversight and legislative powers over 30 local government areas of Osun State.
Egbedun highlighted that N25million was paid to each of the reinstated chairmen, N12 million paid to vice-chairmen, N10 million to 332 councillors, N130 million to selected traditional rulers, and N13billion to a law firm.
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He also alleged that the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, and the United Bank for Africa (UBA) connived to make the diversion easy for the reinstated council executives.
According to him, reaffirming the illegality of forceful occupation of council secretariats by tenureless politicians, the Assembly condemned the callousness of the APC cronies and the minister.
“Not one naira has been paid in the last 12 months as salaries of local workers by these illegal APC chairmen: primary school teachers – zero; nurses and other healthcare workers – zero; local government civil servants – zero; traditional rulers not favored by Gboyega Oyetola – zero; retirees – zero.
“Even more disturbing are reports before this House that plans are allegedly underway to disburse another Fifty Billion Naira (N50B) of LG funds for political purposes, disguised as project funds, while governance at the grassroots continues to suffer. We will not tolerate the diversion of public funds meant for salaries, healthcare, education, and community development into private hands to fund the election of a particular politician in Osun State.”
“The Assembly formally places on record that it has written repeatedly to banks, including the United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), that under extant Osun State laws and regulations governing Local Government administration, only career officers duly appointed under the Local Government Service Commission, including directors of finance and directors of administration and general services, are lawful signatories to LG accounts”, clarifying that “politicians elected as, chairmen, councilors, treasurers, or political appointees are forbidden from being signatories to LG accounts.
“Any bank that releases Local Government funds on the instructions of unauthorised persons, regardless of who issued such instructions, acts unlawfully and exposes itself and its officers to criminal liability. Illegal disbursement of public funds is fraudulent. It is not banking practice. It is not political discretion. It is a crime.
“The House therefore warns the UBA in very clear terms that all illegal disbursements of Osun State LG funds, whether purportedly authorised by Mr Gboyega Oyetola or any other individual, will be fully recovered and treated as deliberate complicity in a financial crime. All the funds that UBA has disbursed so far, with the alleged illegal instructions of Mr Oyetola, are a gift to him and cannot be deducted from Osun State LG accounts.
When contacted, the Chairman of the Osun Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), Osun chapter, Hon. Abiodun Idowu, disclosed that the Assembly lacks proper knowledge of governance at the grassroots, urging them to seek updates from Governor Ademola Adeleke rather than feeding the public with lies.
“The same Assembly had been shouting that the Federal Government withheld Osun LG fund, they even said the seizure has stalled governance at the grassroots, only to now say the money has been diverted by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr Gboyega Oyetola.
“The Assembly needs to tell the world how a Minister would be diverting funds seized by the federal government, how the same fund you claimed is non-release has stalled projects at the grassroots, and is not diverted to private pockets. The Assembly as an institution needs to do better rather than pushing false narratives,” he said.