₦airaland Forum

The Ogun State government and a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant, Ladi Adebutu, in the state in 2019 have engaged in a war of words over claims of diversion of N64 billion local government funds.

Mr Adebutu, while addressing journalists on Tuesday, accused the Governor Dapo Abiodun-led administration of diverting the funds meant for the 20 local councils in the state, against the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to him, the state government has turned the councils into mere salary-payers to their employees, with no commensurate development with the federal allocations sent to them.

“For the sake of appropriating funds belonging to the third tier of government in Ogun, N64billion, in 21 months, ended up with the state government, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics,” said Mr Adebutu.

“N64 billion was disbursed, only for the third tier of government to get salaries. There was nothing else to show. All the 20 local governments in the state are virtually under lock and key. No projects could be seen.

“In 21 months of this administration, from the records we have, Ogun State suffered due to a deliberate and willful appropriation of the funds belonging to the local governments. These are the things that have led to continuous agitations for restructuring. If you take the money that belongs to the third tier of government, the system will definitely collapse,” Mr Adebutu stated.

‘Figment of his imagination’
But in a reaction, the Ogun State government, through the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Afolabi Afuape, described the allegation as a figment of Mr Adebutu’s imagination.

“Since the advent of this administration, we have been having the Joint Accounts Allocation Committee (JAAC) meetings, it is statutory; it is required by law. Before we came on board, JAAC was never held for six years,” he said.

“For us to share any money, we have some amount of money that we call the first line charge, which is the money we use to pay teachers’ salaries, pensions, traditional councils of chiefs, among other expenses, that are very crucial to good governance.

“We then release the remaining funds for the local governments. I can tell you that the 20 local governments require about N150 million on monthly basis to remit to the State government as Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE), but we couldn’t deduct it because the money coming from Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) is not always enough.

“In fact, Ogun State government augmented local governments’ funds with N2 billion between the months of January and May 2021 in order for them to meet up financial obligations.

“I don’t know why Hon Ladi Adebutu and PDP will whip up unnecessary sentiments on that. I challenge him and his party – PDP to come on air with me, I am ready with them. Ogun State government will come up with facts and figures about how local governments’ funds are being collected and managed.”

Caution was thrown into the wind on Friday night as officers of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and residents of Ayetoro, Yewa North Local Government area of Ogun state engaged in a violent clash.

DAILY POST gathered that the clash led to the burning of three customs vehicles and shooting of a youth, popularly known in the community as Soliu, three times.

An eyewitness, Razak Adeyemi, explained that trouble started after a heated argument ensued between a customs officer and a resident suspected to be a smuggler after which the matter was resolved and both parties went their separate ways.

He added that about an hour later, four fully loaded customs Hilux vehicles had stormed the community, with the officers shooting continuously in the air.

The act was said to have angered the youths in the community, hence a violent face-off between the officers and youths in the community.

Adeyemi stated, “It all started like a normal argument between a man and a customs officer at Oke Rori, here in Ayetoro. They had a few minutes of arguments, after which military men and residents wadded into the issue and it was resolved.

“About an hour later, four customs Hilux, with fully armed customs officers entered our community and they started shooting anyhow in the air. After several attempts to stop them became fruitless, the youths in the area then faced them and they started shooting at the people.”

Another resident of Ayetoro, Nojeeem, claimed that the officers were shooting like they had been ordered to wipe out the community.

“If you see the way they were shooting, it was like a war zone, like they have been told to kill us all. If not because many of our youths are fortified, many would have been dead by now. If you go round the community, you will see people whose clothes were torn by the customs’ bullets, but the bullets didn’t penetrate their bodies; only for one guy called Soliu who was shot three times.”

When asked of the victim’s whereabouts, Nojeem said he has been taken away by his family members to a yet-to-be known traditional care centre.

When contacted, the spokesperson of NCS, Ogun Area 1 Command, Hammed Oloyede, confirmed the incident, noting that the command had commenced investigation into the reasons for the clash, promising to get back to our reporter.

“The situation is currently under investigation. So, I will get back to you,” Oloyede responded on the phone.

bnsheikh:
Good day everyone, i'll b saying this not because i am from Ilorin but it's a clear fact. Ilorin is an Holy land and full of sincere men of God. There may be some bad clerics you know spoiling the image of Ilorin, one should not take that to devaluate the worth of The town. Sahidi Shittu appeared insulting the scholars from Ilorin and Sunday Igboho came out in public and said He was the one asked him to insult anybody and If any Alfa ever talk, He would declare the day of death for the kind of Alfa. From that day i knew Sunday Igboho would finish soon. watch out for Sahidi Shitu and clear warning to anyone whoever think they can insult Ilorin.

Members of an armed robbery gang have engaged men of the Ogun State Police Command in a gun duel while robbing a shop in Atan-Ota, in the Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of the state.

The suspects reportedly invaded a provision shop and dispossessed its owner, Tope Alabi, of a huge sum of money.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, in a statement on Sunday said three suspects: Anu Ibikunle, 32; Rasheed Bisiriyu, 22; and Adebowale Dada, 25, were arrested in connection with the incident on Thursday.

He added that their arrest followed a distress call the police at the Atan Ota divisional headquarters received around 9.45pm.

“Upon the distress call, the DPO Atan-Ota division, CSP Abolade Oladigbolu, mobilised his men and moved to the scene.

“On sighting the policemen, the hoodlums, who first attacked the policemen, later took to their heels having realised the determination of the policemen to subdue them.

“They were hotly chased and three of them were subsequently apprehended.

"Recovered from them were one locally-made pistol, two live cartridges and assorted charms,” Oyeyemi said.

He noted that the state Commissioner of Police, Edward Ajogun, had ordered the immediate transfer of the suspects to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for further investigation.

Not less than 10 communities in Magboro, Obafemi Owode Local Government, Ogun State are set to boycott Saturday Local Government elections.

The leadership of these communities under the aegis of Joint Community Development Associations said in a statement their action was in protest against the activities of sand dredgers in their communities.

According to the statement, signed by all the chairmen of the CDAs, the dredgers have damaged the only road that connects the whole communities to the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The CDAs are Gaun, New Generation Estate, Peace Garden Estate, Teachers Land, Abule-Oko Unity Estate, Araromi, Pathfinders, Ifesowapo and Glory Land Estate.

The statement noted tthe popular Cele-Oke-Ayo Road, which connects all the communities had been damaged by the heavy trucks of sand dredgers that ply the place everyday and night.

Sometime last year one Capital Waves Nigeria Limited and Teejay/Chinese Dredging Companies moved to Ogun River, Gaun town for dredging activities.

According to the statement, over 100 trucks now ply the road everyday and night, causing serious environmental impact and noise pollution in the community.

“Currently the road is in deplorable condition. We cannot drive our cars anymore because of bad road. A few residents who still manage to drive, spend a lot of money to repair their vehicles. Our wives and children have resorted to trekking now because commercial motorcyclists have stopped plying the road,” the statement reads in part.

Speaking on behalf of the joint CDAs, the Chairman of Abule Oko Development Association (CAC/IT/N0140683), Mr. Kunle Adebanjo, said the residents are boycotting the elections to register displeasure with the condition of the road and also to notify the government about the insensitivity of the dredging companies to the plight of the peaceful residents.

He said the road had always been maintained by the joint CDAs for many years until the dredgers came in.

He explained an agreement was reached between the dredgers, the trucks drivers and the communities that the maintenance of the road would be carried out under Corporate Social Responsibility scheme but that the companies had failed to fulfil its own part of the agreement.

However, the CDAs decided to repair the road a few weeks ago, following the neglect by the sand dredgers but the effort was resisted by the companies.

“The Ibafo Police Division invited our members for a dialogue when the dredgers threatened the residents,” Adebanjo noted.

The police advised the two parties to meet with the traditional ruler to resolve the issue and forward the resolution to the division, which had since been done.

It took the intervention of the traditional ruler, the Olu of Gaun, Oba Sunmonu Seidu to maintain peace between the CDAs and the dredgers.

At the peace meeting, the monarch directed the companies to repair the road but up till now nothing tangible had been done to put the road in good shape.

However, the representative of the truck drivers, Alhaji Waheed Balogun has said that his association would discuss with the dredgers on how to fix the road.

He said during the peace meeting that the truck drivers also faced big problem on the road and that they could stop doing business with the dredgers if it would not join the CDAs to repair the bad road.

While reacting to the protest by the residents, the representative of the dredgers who simply identified himself as Alfa said that he would inform his Managing Director on how to fix the road while also adding that the companies had dropped some loads of hardcore on the bad portion of the road.

Pandemonium broke out on Thursday during the local government campaign of the All Progressives Congress in the Odeda Local government Area of Ogun State when cultists clashed, leaving two persons dead .

The state governor, Dapo Abiodun was hurriedly whisked away by the security operatives during the gun duel.

Our correspondent gathered that two cults in the council engaged in a supremacy battle shortly after the governor arrived the campaign venue.

The Chief of Staff to the Governor, Shuaib Salis, reportedly comes from the council.

A source told our correspondent that one of the cultists shot a member of another group in the head.

This development prompted the people to take to their heels while the suspected killer was reportedly shot dead in a reprisal.

Abiodun, after he was rescued, was later seen at another campaign ground for the Abeokuta North to round off the state-wide campaign ahead of the council poll slated for Saturday.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the command was not aware of the incident.

He however, promised to get back to our correspondent.

TimeTraveller:
They will soon blame Buhari.

Ndi ara!