The Chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria, Babatunde Emilola-Gazal, on Monday, said 16 local government areas in Ogun State may run into financial hitches and may not be able to pay staff salaries, unless the recent Supreme Court judgment is reviewed.
Emilola-Gazal, the immediate-past Chairman of Ijebu-Ode Local Government, said his local government, among others, was perpetually in debt because the monthly allocation from the federal purse was always insufficient.
He said that Abeokuta South, Abeokuta North and Odeda were also affected, adding that the augmentation from the state government had always been the saving grace to meet their monthly financial obligations.
Emilola-Gazal disclosed this at a press briefing held at the Press Centre of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Ogun State Council, at Oke-Ilewo, Abeokuta, on Monday.
While answering questions from the journalists, Emilola-Gazal said, “With the Supreme Court judgment, it will be discovered that 16 local governments in the state can’t pay the salaries of their staff.
“What comes from the Federal Government allocation is not sufficient to pay the first-line charges such as the salaries of the primary schoolteachers, that of the royal fathers and then the staff of the local government.
“That is the truth and until there is augmentation from the state government, these local governments won’t be able to pay. This judgment will bring this to the fore.
“For instance and, in most cases, in Ijebu-Ode Local Government, when we put the monthly revenue coming from the federation side by side, we are always having a deficit of between N40m and N60m. Ijebu-Ode, Abeokuta South, Abeokuta North, and Odeda are perpetually in debt.
“At the end of the day, the Supreme Court judgment may have to be fine-tuned because many of these local governments won’t be able to pay salaries and these we shall see in coming days.”
The ALGON chairman also stressed that the council chairmen in the state knew nothing about the letter the former chairman of Ijebu East LG, Wale Adedayo, wrote in August last year, accusing Governor Dapo Abiodun of diverting about N10.8bn meant for the 20 LGs in the state.
The ALGON boss said the briefing was essential to set the record straight regarding the recent interview Adedayo granted an online medium, wherein he had, among other things, said that the council chairmen who just finished their three-year term last week Friday were in support of the letter.
Adedayo had written to a former governor of the state, Chief Olusegun Osoba, accusing Abiodun of diverting N10.8bn meant for the development of the LGs in the state.
The letter was, however, leaked to the press after which Adedayo was removed as chairman and currently standing trial before a magistrates’ court in Abeokuta for raising false allegations and character assassination against Abiodun.
Emilola-Gazal, flanked by his counterpart from Ifo LG, Mrs Kikelomo Adelano, said after Adedayo wrote the letter without their approval and dropped it on their WhatsApp group, he was told to suspend further action on the letter and ensure that the letter was only received by Chief Osoba.
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“In the morning of Tuesday, 29th August 2023, Wale called to inform me that the Secretary to the State Government called and asked him why he wrote such a letter and sent it out to the media. He said he told him that it was ALGON that mandated him to do it.
“I also asked him why he did it, especially when the body had told him to cease further spread of the letter after sending it to Chief Osoba.
“He said it was a senior journalist colleague that spread it. He sought my support in case the state government made enquiries from me.
“A few minutes after the call, I got a call from the Secretary to the State Government, asking if we, ALGON, asked Wale to write the letter. I answered in the affirmative.
“I did this in the belief that as the chairman of chairmen, I should protect him from the likely consequences of his action,” he said.
Emilola-Gazal said as a way to resolve the crisis, the council bosses met at the secretariat of Abeokuta South LG in Ake and decided to beg the governor, though there were dissenting voices who wanted Adedayo to suffer alone.
“The meeting at Ake was to salvage the situation and not to leave him alone in that period of trouble. It was not to ratify what he wrote. There was never a meeting where he was asked to write anything. Wale acted alone,” he stated.
The former council boss added “At the meeting with the state government team at Osoba Press Centre, Oke Mosan, it was agreed that we plead with the governor, especially on Wale’s behalf, hence our resolve to beg his Excellency to forgive and let go.
“The governor accepted the plea and promised that he would ensure that the LGs are supported to ensure that we overcome the paucity of funds and deliver as expected by our constituents.
“Wale Adedayo fully partook in all the deliberations and also prostrated to ask the governor for forgiveness.
“After the group pleading, I personally took him back to the governor and he prostrated, once again. About five of us joined him in begging the governor.
“We had an understanding with the Secretary to the State Government that, henceforth, there would be no more media coverage on the issues until it is resolved internally. We were to reconvene in his office the following day, Wednesday, 29th August 2023.
“Surprisingly, we woke up to read Wale Adedayo’s interview wherein he cast aspersions on all of us, denying that he was part of the meeting the previous day and didn’t prostrate to beg the governor.”
He said when they met at the SSG’s office the next day, the 19 chairmen, including Adedayo, asked him why he granted another interview, contrary to the resolution of the previous day.
“Wale had no cogent reason. He was asked to give an assurance that there would be no more media interviews on the issue until they were resolved. He told us there that he could not give that assurance until after he met with a group of people.
“At that point, it became clear to us that Wale was not acting alone, but in concert with some external forces. All pleas to make him back down fell on deaf ears.
“Wale is acting a script and trying to pull other people down. He does not need to do this. We beseech Him to desist from this line of action, do a soul search and come out clean. It is most inhuman to attempt to destroy those who stuck out their neck, trying to protect you when the chips were down. There is always a payback day,” he said.
When contacted, Adedayo described the briefing held by the former council chairmen as fabrication, saying that he never expected anything different.
He said many of the council bosses were aiming for a second term and would not want to say anything that would offend the governor.
He insisted that the council chairmen knew about the letter.
“Emilola-Gazal was the one who called to say that five chairmen had met and decided on a letter that should go to Osoba.
“He now added that they want me to fine-tune it, as the only journalist among them. I did justice to what he said and I also added mine.
“Yes, others who were not involved got scared when the letter became public. It was the reason for the Abeokuta South Local Government secretariat meeting.
“For the avoidance of doubt, it is not the first time the issue will come up. We’ve been on it for more than one year. But in fairness to Gazal, he would always plead patience, saying he would talk to the Commissioner for Finance on our behalf. We often spoke on the phone, and in person and also exchanged WhatsApp messages on it.
“Being akin to a coup, we were careful not to expand the base of those to be involved. Gazal made sure of that. The senior colleague who leaked a copy of the letter to the media was one of those we have been talking to about how to go about getting funds since our discussions began. But then, lessons are being learnt by the son of man in terms of practical politics,” he said.
Source: PunchNg