Adeleke Warns of Alleged LG Funds Misappropriation

Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports

Senator Ademola Adeleke, the candidate for governor of Osun State, asserted that he had reliable information concerning an illegal instruction to local governments ordering them to pay the state government in cash around 80% of their most recent fiscal allocations.

According to the report, each council must return between N30 million and N25 million to the state government, leaving the majority of local governments with only two to three million Naira after such illegal loot is turned over to the Ministry of Local Government in Osogbo.

The Governor-spokesman, elect’s Mr. Rasheed Olawale, said in a statement released. yesterday that the most criminal aspect of the directive was that the council managers were required to prepare paperwork to cover up the withdrawn funds and classify them as spent amounts within the local government financial records.

The report also stated that the financial transfer to Osogbo must be completed by tomorrow, Friday, at the latest, by 30 local governments and area councils.

As the monies must be returned to the ministry in cash before the day’s end, we are aware that the council managers have been working diligently to carry out the mandate (Friday).

In light of the foregoing, Senator Ademola Adeleke, the governor-elect of Osun state, is warning council managers to be wary of criminal activity and cooperation that might endanger their careers and land them in a corruption trial.

Senator Adeleke questioned the legality of the removal of funds intended for local governments under such dubious circumstances, calling the cash withdrawal command “a blatant act of illegal diversion of public finance.”

“We want to make sure that everyone knows that we are carefully watching the reported fund transfers from the source to the destination. Since we have complete knowledge of the transaction’s details, those involved in the corruption enterprise should abandon their strategy.

“All last-minute plans to further bankrupt Osun State are under surveillance and are being recorded. Any public employee who participated in such a shady agreement will face consequences. The whole force of the law will be used against any elected or appointed official who participated in the last-minute plunder of the Osun Treasury. The governor-elect urged bureaucrats and council managers in particular to disregard any unlawful orders.