The Legislative Council of Ijebu East local government area of Ogun State, has suspended the Council Chairman, Mr. Wale Adedayo for a period of three months over what it described as ‘financial maladministration’.
The LG lawmakers, in a letter titled, “Financial Maladministration of Hon. Wale Adedayo as Chairman of Ijebu East Local Government, Ogbere, Ijebu”, said the Council legislators had received several allegations against the Chairman Mr. Adedayo, who had accused the governor of withholding the LGs’ allocations.
The letter was endorsed by the Leader of the House, Hon. Fasheyi Akindele Adesuji, along with six other Councillors.
They instructed Mr. Adedayo to transfer all Council assets under his supervision to the Council Vice Chairman. The Councillors explained that this three-month suspension period would enable them to conduct a thorough investigation of the Chairman’s actions.
Several allegations were brought against Mr. Adedayo, including:
- A claim that the Chairman withdrew N4 million from the local government account in 2022 for empowerment purposes, but there has been no evidence of any empowerment initiatives up to the present time.
- Accusations of squandering N2 million on the Isese festival on August 20, 2022.
- Allegations of approving a duty tour allowance of N250,000 for the Chairman and other high-ranking officials in June 2023.
- Another charge regarding a duty tour allowance of N250,000 granted to the Chairman and other top officials for their engagement in unspecified activities.
This suspension will facilitate a comprehensive examination of these allegations against Mr. Adedayo.
Others allegations are; the Chairman purportedly spent N426,000 on production of report on 2020 ‘Jigbo’ festival in Ijebu East, when we were even yet elected, inauguration expenses of Women in Politics in ljebu East LG N350,000 in 2022, but no money was released to the women group.
“Entertainment and other logistics expenses during the commissioning of Legislative Building building N350k on 18th of April 2023. Another entertainment on the same commissioning of the Legislative Building N295k same day, 18th of April 2023”.
“The second 8.2 million sent from phase 2 of the project (tables and the chairs for schools) 20 (twenty) chairs were made with N8.2m. (Eight million two hundred thousand naira)”.
“Another N20 million sent from state is nowhere to be found.”
remain uncompleted till date”.
Mr. Adedayo was also accused of Iilegal tax collection from Ijebu East Okada riders and drivers via what he called “levy” without the approval of the Legislative Council, which is double taxation for the people of ljebu East at this tough period.
The letter read, “having received the above allegations, there is need for thorough investigation by the House. The House therefore resolved as follows: That the Chairman steps aside for the proper conduct of investigations.
“The Council Chairman, Hon. Wale Adedayo, is hereby suspended for three months pending the conclusion of the investigations and therefore directed to handover all the properties of the Council in his possession to the Vice Chairman, who will act as the Chairman during the suspension of the Chairman as provided in the 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
“The Council Chairman is directed to appear before the House on the next sitting of the House on Thursday, September 14, 2023.
“That the Council Treasurer, through the Head of the Local Government Administration (HOLGA) should furnish the House with financial/bank statement 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.
“That the above Resolutions be copied to the Governor of Ogun State and the Ogun State
House of Assembly”.