Lagos: Magodo Estate Leadership Accused Of Misappropriation Of Funds

The alleged mismanagement of funds by the leadership of Magodo Residents Association (MRA) has caused a disquiet in the estate located in the Shangisha area of Kosofe local government area of Lagos state.

Some residents of the estate have accused the MRA leadership, led by Sheriff Daramola, of misappropriation

MRA’s internal auditor, Lawson Adesokan, had raised the alarm about the alleged misappropriation in an internal memo.

The auditor cited the approval and disbursement of funds for “Police PR”, a form of monetary compensation given to police officers assigned to secure the estate.

In the memo dated December 12, 2023, Adesokan challenged Daramola for approving four additional police officers as security for the estate without the approval of the Board of Trustees (BoT) and central consultative council (CCC) of the Estate.

The auditor also chided the MRA chairman for approving N4,800,000 per annum for additional security, saying it was above his approval limit.

“I understand payment of PR to the police commanders is not unusual, but if the amount is running over N10 million, it should not be handled by only one person, which in this case is the security secretary,” the auditor said.

“An additional N4,800,000 per annum and to be disbursed by only one person is prone to fraud, and it is a concern to me.

“Besides, the method of transferring the money out of the association is questionable.

“A fictitious payment voucher will be prepared and cash paid to a staff member by the name Moses Alawode who knows nothing about the intended purpose.

“The money will then be transferred by him to the security secretary. This to me is a red flag right there,” he added.