Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun has resorted to strong-arm tactics rather than defend allegations levelled against him by the chairman of Ijebu East local government, Mr Wale Adedayo.
Reports indicate that Adedayo was Friday morning detained by the Department of State Services, DSS, shortly after he responded to an invitation regarding his allegations of zero allocation to local governments since 2019 by the Ogun State governor.
Amidst a storm of controversy, Adedayo entered the DSS office at precisely 11:43am today, but as at the time of filing this report, he is yet to be released.
His Personal Assistant, Adewale Adebowale said no one has been allowed access to the chairman. The PA himself was denied entry beyond the DSS gate and is currently stationed there, awaiting any developments.
Recall that Adedayo had in an open letter to a former governor in Ogun State, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, sought the elder statesman intervention in appealing to Prince Abiodun to account for the allocations due to the third tier of government ever since the inception of his government in 2019.
Meanwhile, the members of the Joint Account and Allocation Committee, in Ogun State have told the state House of Assembly that every fund approved by the committee consisting of stakeholders passed through the accounts of the various local government councils.
They stated that all first-line charges including primary school teachers’ salaries, LG pensions, traditional council, leave bonuses and check-off dues of labour unions are usually aggregated among the LG chairmen and payment made at a monthly fund administration and allocation meetings.
Adedayo had alleged in his letter that Abiodun consistently denied them the allocations meant for them.
Furthermore, Adedayo claimed that the governor never allocated any funds from the President Muhammad Buhari intervention to states and local governments, despite the 20 LGAs being entitled to approximately 10 billion naira. He also mentioned that funds intended for Ecology management, allocated in the name of the LGAs, did not reach them.
Another accusation leveled against the governor is the takeover of revenue sources belonging to the LGAs, including Motor Parks and Primary schools, by the state government under the leadership of Prince Dapo Abiodun. This action is alleged to be a continuation of what Senator Ibikunle Amosun had initiated.
The DSS is yet to provide any official statement regarding the detention of Adedayo.
