Don’t Be Accomplices To Makinde’s ‘Ultra-modern’ Fraud — ALGON Warns Caretaker Chairmen

Following letter written to caretaker chairmen of local government areas and local council development areas in Oyo State to contribute 15 million naira each for the building of Local Government Service Commission Building, the sacked chairmen have sent a note of warning to them.

Stealing By Tricks of Local Government Funds. Stop it Now!!

The attention of ALGON, Oyo State, has been called by  public spirited people to the memo dated February 20, 2020 from the Office of the Permanent Secretary, Local Government Service Commission, mandating each of the thirty three (33) local government to release a whooping  sum of Fifteen Million Naira (N15m) purportedly for the “construction of an ultra modern secretariat complex for the local government service commission / local government staff pension board.

Mr. Akin Funmilayo, the PS, LG Service Commission who signed the confidential document claimed to have acted in line with approval given by the State Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde, for the approval to construct the secretarial complex.

Having considered the farce behind the issue after a diligent investigation, we hereby submit that the purported project is nothing more than extra modern fraudulent scheme to siphon local government fund by tricks using the illegal caretakers as pawns. It is a white elephant project designed to siphon money regularly from local government purse.

By its constitution and in view of the latest status of the council which covers autonomy on its finances, project choice and implementation, the order as contained in the memo is illegitimate and contravenes the local government laws, constitutional responsibilities and purpose of establishing local government in Nigeria. The illegality becomes more pronounced when the huge fund is expected to be coughed out by illegal caretakers, who in principle and law, must not have access to local government account. This is also a breach of NFIU guideline on local government finances.

Building an imaginary secretariat is not, cannot and must not be a priority of any serious people’s focussed, responsible local government administration in view of compelling need to provide good roads, renovate dilapidated primary schools, primary  health centres, provide borehole water, markets, agricultural inputs among others for the grassroots.

These illegal caretakers are hereby strictly warned in their own interest not to be accomplices to this “ultra-modern” fraud by the State Government. It is a sure way to EFCC net, to prosecution and eventual imprisonment. The Governor has immunity against arrest and prosecution which these hustlers don’t have, so don’t be entrapped by any illegal gubernatorial order. In a democracy, there is nothing like “obey the last order” and ignorance is never an excuse in law. We advise them not to ruin their lives because of mere pittance they may receive from the “ultra modern” loot. No law, we repeat, no law empowers a State Governor to direct Local Government Administrators to release money or stylishly loot for him. Local Government finances are properly budgeted based on needs assessment of the Council Area and appropriately approved by the Legislative Arm. Anything to the contrary is fraud and stealing by tricks.

It will be recalled that we also alerted the general public of the panicky auctioning of local government property by the illegal contraption tagged Caretaker Committees on the eve of our recent resumption  of office and the three million naira N3m “chop money” illegally withdrawn from each council account to sponsor thuggery and  violence against our resumption.

The latest order for the release of N495m from the thirty three(33) local government councils for a phoney project is another step in the systemic looting of local government funds and property. This is one of the reasons His Excellency, Engr Seyi Makinde hurriedly dissolved democratically elected Local Government Administration on the first day of his assumption, an illegal step the Governor is now regretting and blaming his overzealous aides for giving him wrong advice on.

*Resort to Blackmail, Witch Hunting and Ghost Chasing.*

ALGON is very much aware of the State Government’s desperate renewed  attempt to smear the reputation of ALGON members especially its leadership with phoney corruption allegations having failed in its previous attempts.

In order to achieve this crude objective, some senior council officials are being lured or  intimidated to lie while those who refused to join in the conspiracy of false allegations against Elected Chairmen are punitively transfered outside their  council areas against the norms and rules of staff transfer because they refused to manufacture figures and cook books to implicate chairmen since the books are clean and the records are unambiguous.

The renewed attempt to blackmail ALGON leaders after we rejected, based on  principle, the deceitful out of court settlement by monetization of his self inflicted crisis by the Governor will not work. The only acceptable solution is for the Governor to retrace his illegal step of dissolving elected local government, the power he nor any Governor or State  House of Assembly does not have as pronounced by the  Supreme Court.

We are unshaken in our resolve to protect democracy, rule of law and good governance. No intimidation or blackmail can stop us on this path because where a tradition is lacking, a striking example is very necessary.

Our sympathy and solidarity goes to those conscientious senior local government officials who are being witch – hunted. This is also their own sacrifice to save grassroots democracy, please be rest assured that the days of witch-hunting and the witch-hunters will soon be over when the court decides and reaffirms the supremacy of law as against the pretensions of powerful men in transient power.

*Lies as Directive Principle of State Policy.*

Every lie has an expiry date.

Every lie including lies told by  unscrupulous politicians have expiry dates no matter how sweet or long. For this reason unrepentant liars must tell more lies in a futile attempt to cover the initial lies.

First, the PDP government and their crowd of cheerleaders said that the election that brought us into office was conducted against a court injunction of their imagination. But when it was proved that the injunction was discharged on 10th May, 2018 by Justice Joyce Abdul Malik of the Federal High Court, Ibadan before the election, they shamelessly changed their chorus by alleging that the perpetual injunction restraining the Governor of the State, House of Assembly from dissolving Local Government was not binding. The judgment against the Oyo State Government which also is binding on  the incumbent Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde, they ridiculously described the  as “arrangee” “Jankara” judgement, in an attempt to disparage the Judiciary. The same judgment they are now appealing against at the Court of Appeal.

Now another senseless lie is being spewed around that the elected chairmen and councilors never collected nomination forms or paid for forms to the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission, OYSIEC, so they were not qualified to contest for elections ab initio. Gibberish!

How does one respond to such animal talk from frivolous lazy drunk minds? How does one enlighten irredeemable liars that no one can stand election in Nigeria at any level without collecting nomination forms as a non negotiable condition clearly spelt out by the electoral laws governing the conducts of local, state and federal elections? The law and extant judgments of the Supreme court governs the issue of nomination forms and we are again not surprised at the ignorance and foolishness being exhibited by half baked politicians now in power.

How does one redeem commercial liars. If such happened at all, that should had been pleaded in a court of law either as a pre-election matter or pleaded at the election tribunal for the  disqualification of such candidates and their political parties? Since these merchants of fabricated lies profit from  Governor Seyi Makinde administration, since lying is a directive principle of state policy of this administration to gain cheap popularity, Oyo State citizens should be prepared for more tales of fabrications which will definitely be exposed. For us the courts remain the bastion of exposing the illegitimacy of this government’s actions and we await further lies and mischievous actions.

This psychoneurotic symptoms may live with the Government of Engr. Seyi Makinde for long. So, let all be vigilant and fall no victim.

Thank you for your solidarity and support to defend grassroots democracy. We shall overcome.

Prince Ayodeji Abass-Aleshinloye

ALGON Chairman

Oyo State