Seven out of 11 councillors in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State, on Thursday, suspended the chairman of the council, Hon. Adewale Adedayo, for three months, over allegations of financial misappropriation among others.
Tribune Online recalls that Adedayo, had some few days back wrote an open letter to former governor of the State and national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Olusegun Osoba and the EFCC, over allegation of zero allocation to the 20 local government areas of the state since 2021, under the Dapo Abiodun -led administration.
Also, Tribune Online reports on Thursday that mobile policemen invaded the Ijebu East Local Government Area following allegation of zero allocation against the Governor of the state.
The House Leader of IELG, Hon. Akindele Fasheyi, in a statement issued after the sitting of the House levelled 15 allegations against the embattled chairman.
The allegations were; empowerment programme to the tune of N4million in the year 2022 said to be money withdrawn from a GTB account, with no empowerment done till date.
Others were a sum of N2million spent on Isese Day in August 20,2022, and a sum of N250,000 spent as duty tour allowed by the chairman in June 2023.
The suspended chairman was also alleged to have collected a sum of N250,000 as duty tour allowance for the chairman and other top officials engagements in Abeokuta in June 2023.
Adedayo was also accused to have purportedly spent N426,000 on the production of a report on 2020 Jigbo Festival in Ijebu East when they were yet to be elected into offices.
The suspended chairman, according to the councillors, was said to have spent N350,000 as expenses on women in politics in the local government in 2022.
Other allegations against the chairman by the lawmakers was the spending of N350,000 as logistics expenses during the commissioning of the Legislative Building in April 2023, and another N295,000 as entertainment expenses on the same day among others.
The House therefore directed Adedayo to step aside for three months for proper investigations into the allegations levelled against him.
He was directed to hand over the property of the Council to the Vice Chairman, who is to act as the Chairman during the suspension of Adedayo as provided in the 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
The suspended chairman is equally directed to appear before the House on Thursday, September 14.
While the Council Treasurer through the Head of the Local Government Administration (HOLGA), was advised to furnish the House with financial/bank statements of the Council in the last two years along with other relevant documents and vouchers as the House may require in order to aid investigations.
In his reaction, Adedayo said his suspension did not follow due process, and vowed to challenge it democratically.
He said, “Suspension or impeachment of a local government chairman ought to follow due process. The first stage is a letter to me about the so-called infractions.
“Of course, they stormed the Council secretariat with more than 100 armed policemen this morning along with thugs and agberos. They think we were going to react violently as they had prepared. We are in a democracy. We’ll challenge them democratically.
“All the allegations are baseless and without foundation. They forcefully marched the Clerk of the House to Abeokuta yesterday along with the local government’s HOLGA. So, we knew what the Governor was up to before the charade this morning.
“Two of the Councillors were led to the Council at gunpoint. And immediately they finished, all of them were taken in a vehicle to Abeokuta. Of course, I was told that N1m was given to each person that signed. We are not bothered. Once the EFCC comes, the books of the local government can also be opened for them to see.”
Earlier, the embattled chairman honoured the invitation of the Department of State Security (DSS) in Abeokuta, over the allegations raised against Governor Abiodun.
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