Osun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to probe an alleged attempt by former local government council chairmen elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the State to illegally pay out almost N13 billion of the State’s local government funds as legal fees.
The party, in a statement issued in Osogbo on Wednesday and signed by its State chairman, Hon. Sunday Bisi, said a viral leaked letter to that effect seen online in which one of the sacked chairmen allegedly instructed a commercial bank to pay a law firm 15 per cent of the allocation paid into a particular local government council’s account last week, informed its decision to raise the alarm and called for probe.
The PDP said it gathered authoritatively that the APC ex-chairmen in all the 30 local government area councils gave the same instruction to the bank.
“The total balance in all LG accounts is about N85 billion. Fifteen per cent of that amount translates to N12.75 billion which these APC men wanted to pay out as legal fees. Fortunately, the Oyo State High Court order of last Friday stopped them and their scheme,” he disclosed.
He added that the ex-council chairmen used non-council staff members as treasurers and co-signatories of the letters.
“There is no officer designated as treasurer in the local government scheme of service across the country. Yet these people used individuals who are not local government staff to fill the non-existent position of treasurer. One of those so used to sign the letter is a non-teaching staff of a private polytechnic in Boluwaduro Local Government Area. It is shocking,” the PDP chairman said.
