Local government chairmen in Ogun State on Tuesday denied the allegation that the state government had been diverting their funds, resulting in zero allocation to them.
This is even as Governor Dapo Abiodun said he was disturbed by the baseless allegation against him.
The council chairmen visited the governor on Tuesday night with Mr Wale Adedayo, the Chairman of Ijebu East Local Government who made the allegation to tender an unreserved apology, as they accepted that mistakes had been made.
Speaking at the meeting in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, attended by 18 out of the 20 chairmen, Governor Abiodun expressed surprise at the allegation, noting that rather than starving the local governments, he has made several interventions on their behalf to lessen their burden.
Prince Abiodun said he has always been supportive of the councils because they are an integral part in the march towards the development of the state.
He said: “Where there is no information, there is misinformation. When I read in the news media yesterday that I Adedapo Abiodun, the privileged Executive Governor of this State for the second term is being accused of diverting funds meant for a local government. I say to myself perhaps it must be another Adedapo Abiodun and not me.
“God knows that this job, I am doing it with every iota of sincerity of purpose. I continue to ensure that I am guided by all the promises I made in the course of my journey to the governor’s office. I continue to remind myself that I am holding this public office in trust as a trustee for and on behalf of all sons and daughters of this state and I will continue to be dogged, irrevocably committed to developing every part of this state equitably and fairly.
“I will continue to respect that besides the state government, there is also another tier and we are charged with the responsibility of building the future of this State.
“So, I began to wonder how could anyone possibly begin to imagine that I would divert funds meant for another tier of government when my party, the APC, had formed government 100 per cent in that tier particularly. It is not as if I am trying to punish some council chairmen who are not in my party. State government and local government are all one family.”
