The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other- Related Offences Commission (ICPC) have been urged to release their reports on alleged diversion of  Local Government funds and procurement irregularities by the current government of  Ogun State.

  The request was made by  Lygel Youths & Leadership Initiative (LYLI), a group led by Lekan Oladapo in Abuja yesterday.

“We call on the  EFCC  and   ICPC   to make public their reports into the investigations of allegations of diverted Local Government funds and procurement irregularities The  ‘Building Our Future’ mantra cannot be built on a foundation of opacity and neglected grassroots,’’ Oladapo said at a news conference. 

LYLI expressed concern about the management of Local Government’s funds in Ogun State and alleged lack of openness in the award of contracts.

It said:”The most glaring internal crisis of this administration remains the strangulation of the third tier of government.

“Without a robust and functioning local government administration, there is hardly any programme of the Federal Government that can work in any part of the country, Ogun State inclusive.

“We recall the 2023 petition by the former Chairman of Ijebu East Local Government, Hon. Wale Adedayo, who courageously affirmed that the Ogun State Government had consistently withheld federal allocations and Ecological Funds meant for the 20 local governments in the state.

“Despite the administration’s denials, the reality on the ground has indeed shown that the Local Governments have operated under a ‘zero allocation’ reality, where they are unable to perform basic functions like rural road grading or maintaining primary health centres without begging the state executive for ‘intervention funds.’

“This is a direct affront to the Supreme Court’s ruling on financial autonomy for Nigeria’s 774 local governments. It is also a direct assault on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s efforts to reposition the grassroots for quality developments.” 

It also questioned what it described as the “closed-door” nature of public procurement in the state.

Source: The Nation News