The Ogun State Joint Accounts and Appropriations Committee (JAAC) has defended Governor Dapo Abiodun on charges of diverting local government funds in the state.
Ijebu East Kocal Governor Wale Adedayo made the accusation against the governor on Sunday.
But the governor denied the accusation in a statement from his spokesman, Lekan Adeniran, on Wednesday.
On the same day, the heads of all other local governments in the state met with the governor at Abeokuta Government House to disassociate themselves from Mr. Adedayo’s claims.
Adedayo has since been suspended by his local government’s legislative council for alleged financial mismanagement and was detained on Friday by the State Security Service (SSS).
JAAC is the state body that manages the account in which the allocations to local governments from the Federation Account are paid.
In a meeting with the state House of Assembly on Friday, committee members said that each fund approved by the committee usually went into the accounts of the various local government councils.
The members of the committee, headed by the state accountant general, Tunde Aregbesola, had been summoned by the state House of Assembly on an accusation of misappropriation of funds.
Other JAAC members include the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government and Chiefdom Affairs, Rotimi Akinlesi; the state president of the Association of Local Government Presidents, who is also president of the Ijebu Ode Local Government, Tunde Gazal; the president of the Association of Pensioners of Local Administrations, Benedict Ademoye; and representatives of the Universal Basic Education State Board (SUBEB), among others.
They explained that the process of administration of funds by JAAC is always carried out on a monthly basis in a meeting that includes the Commissioner for Local Government and Chief Affairs and its permanent secretary.
They said that other regular attendees at JAAC meetings include the 20 local government chairmen, the Finance Commissioner, the State Accountant General, the Chairman and Secretary of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), representatives of traditional councils of the State, the Local Government Services Commission, the Local Government Pensions Office and representatives of Local Government Pensioners, among others.
Members said it was at the meeting that all front-line positions including primary school teacher salaries, local government pensions, traditional council funds, leave bonuses and union dues are added up. between the presidents of local governments and the payments made.
They confirmed cases in which the state government had to increase appropriation deficits to help local governments take care of their front-line spending.
House Speaker Olakunle Oluomo, in his response after their presentations, clarified that the Evidence Act did not allow lawmakers to respond to speculation, noting that the house had yet to receive a formal petition from any quarter regarding the accusations of Mr. Adedayo. .
He assured that when said request is received, the assembly will act immediately.
Mr. Oluomo directed the JAAC team to provide all relevant documents regarding their submissions to the assembly for further legislative action.
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Let hear it in the comment below if you do have an opinion on this; Ogun LG funds not diverted by the governor