The Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, has refuted the accusation that he had been redirecting the mandated Federal Allocation intended for the local governments of the state for the past two years.
The governor stated that his administration needed to increase the financial resources allotted to local governments inside the state in order to support the council chairmen in fulfilling their responsibilities.
In a written correspondence addressed to former Governor Chief Olusegun Osoba, Wale Adedayo, the Chairman of Ijebu East Local Government Area in Ogun State, made allegations against the governor. Adedayo accused the governor of misappropriating the statutory allocations and a substantial sum of over ten billion naira from the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme.
Adedayo further asserted that the allocation of 10% of the state’s Internally Generated Revenue, as mandated by the constitution for the local governments, had not been disbursed since Abiodun assumed office.
According to a statement made by the Chief Press Secretary, Lekan Adeniran, the governor has stated that the local government’s fund is being managed by the Joint Account and Allocation Committee, which is constitutionally recognised.
According to Abiodun, the Joint Account Allocation Committee members play a crucial role in ensuring that the council chairmen receive the necessary funds to facilitate maximum performance.
According to his statement, a total sum of N5 billion was distributed to the 20 local government areas in the state during the recent meeting of the Joint Account Allocation Committee, which took place one week ago.
He added, “Between May 2023 when the Governor was sworn in for the second term, and July 2023, the JAAC shared among 20 local governments N4.531b, N4.444b and N4.497b respectively on first line charges and just last week N5.2b was shared among the local governments for the month of August.”
Members of the JAAC include the state’s Chief Economic Adviser, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Accountant General of the State, Permanent Secretary for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, all twenty of the state’s local government chairmen, a representative from each of the state’s four Traditional Councils, a representative from SUBEB, NULGE, and local govt pensioners, and the governor, among others.
The statement further reads, “The JAAC has the mandate to meet every month to ensure that allocations to local governments are discussed and properly presented for fund allocation.
