A FACTION of suspended members of Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Ogun State chapter, has called on the anti-graft agencies – Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) – to look into the how councils funds were expended from October 2016 till date.
This followed the weighty allegations levelled against the councils’ chairmen by the state House of Assembly.
The chairmen of the 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) were suspended last May by the 8th state legislative Assembly under the leadership of Speaker Suraj Adekunle and were also asked to appeared before the Assembly for questioning in respect of the council finances.
But addressing reporters at the Nigeria Union of Journalists(NUJ), Ogun State Council Secretariat, Abeokuta, the ALGON faction said they had no access or knowledge of what was being released to the LGAs from the Federal Allocations, hence the call for a probe into it.
Speaking on behalf of his 20 other colleagues, the ALGON Chairman, Semi Bola Lawal, said the 20 LGAs and 37 LCDAs collected N14 million each in seven staggered tranches spreading over 31 months.
Each of the chairmen, he added, collected N229,000 as monthly salary devoid of additional allowances within the same period.
Lawal lamented that they did not have official cars, no impress and were subjected to ridicule by the administration of Ibikunle Amosun as the LGAs and LCDAs were left in “comatose and rendered impotent.”
