A group in Osun State, the Civil Societies Coalition for the Emancipation of Osun State (CSCEOS) has urged the Federal Government to henceforth stop releasing state’s Local Government funds to the through Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola.

The group also petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari, the National Assembly, anti-graft bodies, Federal Account Allocation Committee(FAAC) and host of other concerned authorities over alleged illegal and unconstitutional diversion of local government funds accrued to the state from Federation Account by the state government.

It, however, called on the President Buhari and National Assembly to set up an Independent Judicial Panel of Inquiry to investigate the alleged criminal diversion of monthly allocations accrued to the Local Government areas of the state since inception of Aregbesola’s administration, asking the anti-graft agencies to commence the credible investigation and forensic audit of the account books of the
constitutionally recognized 30 local governments of the state.

It added that the anti-graft bodies should also investigate the roles of the then Executive-Secretaries, Head of Local Government Administration (HLA) and former Commissioner and Permanent Secretary
in the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in the criminal diversion of local government funds accrued to the State.

This was contained in a Letter dated Monday 4th of April, 2016 and signed by the CSCEOS’ Chairman, Comrade Adeniyi, Alimi Sulaiman, with the titled: “Report of illegal diversion of 30 local government’s
monthly allocations by the Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola. Why Civil Societies Coalition for the Emancipation of Osun State (CSCEOS) is calling for investigation and stoppage of releasing of Local Government monthly allocations to Osun State through Mr. Rauf Aregbesola”, written to President Muhammadu Buhari and forwarded to the National Assembly, two anti-graft bodies and host of others, alleged that Mr. Aregbesola has been fraudulently siphoned the State Local Government (L.G.) funds through illegal special intervention projects carried out on behalf council areas in the State.

“It is duty bound on us as an organization that is craving for egalitarian and corrupt free society to draw the urgent attention of your good office(s) to the ongoing advancement of illegal and unconstitutional diversion of the monthly Allocations of 30 Local government areas of Osun State by Governor Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola since November 2010.

“To affirm this illegality and unconstitutionality, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola suspended the democratic system in the constitutionally recognized 30 Local government areas of Osun State by appointing the grade level 14 local government staff as ‘Council Managers’ to man the Council areas of the State instead of  ‘democratically elected Chairmen and Councilors’ as stipulated in the Section 7(1) of the amended 1999
Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria in order to give Aregbesola leeway in the criminal diversion of Local government funds”.

“Sir, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola is engaging in this impunity of highest order in the Local Government areas of the State as a result of the rubber stamp 26 members of the Osun State House of Assembly which comprises of twenty-four (24) members of the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC) in the State. To confirm our position on the subject matter, Mr. Aregbesola still owing six months salaries of the workers,
particularly, the local government employees and Primary and Middle School teachers which they have been paying as at when due through the monthly allocations from the Federation Account to the local
government areas of the State”.

Comrade Sulaiman further alleged that Mr. Aregbesola had used the State to borrow sum of N500billion from both local and international financial institutions which subjected the State to the present financial predicament facing its corporate existence, adding that Aregbesola has also forced the thirty(30) local government areas of the State to borrow N10billion each which was total sum of N300billion under the guise of embarking on one project or the others on behalf of the local councils that was seriously affecting the financial functions of the respective local government areas of the State to their respective people, especially, the affected local government workers, urging the Federal Government to take over the payment of salaries of local government employees and Primary and Middle school teachers in the State in order to protect their economy and labour rights.

Rights activist therefore urged President Muhammadu Buhari led Federal Government and National Assembly with their anti-graft agencies to investigate all the acclaimed road projects embarked upon on by Aregbesola’s administration on behalf of the local government areas of the State which it did not follow the due process of Public Procurement Act 2007.

“That the Federal Government and Federal Allocation Account Committee (FAAC) should stop releasing the monthly ALLOCATION funds of the Local Government in the State to Mr. Rauf Aregbesola until the return of the democratically elected representatives of the people into the council areas of the State aside the Grade Level 14 officers being paraded currently as ‘ILLEGAL COUNCIL MANAGERS’ by the State government”, the letter stated.

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