Members of the Ogun State branch of National Automobile Technicians Association (NATA), on Tuesday, threatened to physically attack the leadership of the association following alleged refusal of the executives to disburse the N50million loan facility extended to the group by the state government during the 2023 election campaign in the State.
NATA members specifically accused the state chairman and secretary of the association, Comrades Adeleke Balogun and Segun Osho, respectively of embezzling the money provided for their association by the Governor Dapo Abiodun-led administration in the build-up to the 2023 governorship election without utilising it for the purpose the money was meant for.
Speaking with LEADERSHIP on Tuesday, spokesperson of the agrrieved NATA members, Chief Sobowale Sobanke, disclosed that the auto technicians in the state would not hesitate at venting their anger on the Comrade Balogun-led State Executive members should the leadership of the association continue to turn deaf ears to the their demand for disbursing the governor’s N50million election largesse as loan to members.
LEADERSHIP gathered that the state governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, had on March 13, 2023, when he met the association during his re-election campaign, promised and also released the sum of N50 million to the association as part of his commitment towards ensuring that NATA members in the state acquire modern facilities that will enhance their work abilities.
The fund, which was released under the Abiodun’s ‘Oko Owo Dapo’ SMEs Loan Scheme, was was to assist NATA members who may have found it difficult to access loan facilities from commercial banks, with opportunity to get fund that will assist them equip their respective workshops.
But speaking with LEADERSHIP, Sobowale alleged that NATA leadership in the State has embezzled the fund, disclosing that a paltry sum of N1million was released to be shared at the rate of N5,000 each for the entire members at his own Laderin Mechanic Workshop in Abeokuta.
Sobowale further alleged that NATA state exco under Comrade Balogun has been threatening to kill whoever that has the courage to challenge the them on the money or attempted at revealing what happened to the money to journalists or the state government.
NATA aggrieved members’ spokesperson, however, appealed to the state government, security operatives, particulaly the Department of State Security Service (DSS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to avert the looming bloodletting by investigating the current status of the money, as well as ordering the entire NATA leadership in the state to resign from their positions for a fresh election “according to the constitution of the association”.
Meanwhile, speaking with LEADERSHIP over the matter, NATA State chairman, Comrade Balogun denied the allegation of embezzlement, stressing that the entire money has been kept “at three different community banks” in the state.
