He Ogun State Government has again denied the allegation that Governor Dapo Abiodun was diverting funds from local state governments.
Ijebu East local government chairman Wale Adedayo made the accusation against the governor on Tuesday.
But at a press conference held on Sunday at the Olusegun Osoba Press Center in Oke Mosan, Abeokuta, senior state government officials spoke in defense of Abiodun.
Present at the conference were the State Government Secretary, Tokunbo Talabi; the Chief Economic Adviser and Designated Commissioner, Oladapo Okubadejo; the Governor’s Deputy Chief of Staff, Toyin Taiwo; the State Accountant General and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Tunde Aregbesola, the governor’s chief press secretary, Lekan Adeniran, and the governor’s media consultant, Kayode Akinmade.
Okubadejo said the monthly allowances from the Federation Account were never enough to pay the LGA’s front-line positions, which include the salaries of primary school teachers and local government staff, pensions and bonuses.
He said the state has been supporting municipalities with additional funds to make up the shortfall.
He reiterated that the state government does not manage the accounts of the local government councils nor is it involved in how LG funds are spent.
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Speaking on behalf of the team, Okunbadejo said that the Joint Account Allocation Committee (JAAC) is administered by the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftainship Affairs.
“The Joint Account Allocation Committee (JAAC) account is a completely separate account from the state government accounting process. It is managed and administered by a completely different set of staff involved in local government administration, ie the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftainship Affairs.
“The account and signers are separate from state government accounts, which automatically means it’s already managed independently. The Accountant General and the Treasury Director are not signatories to the JAAC account; they are administered by the Ministry of Local Government and Headquarters Affairs.
“This JAAC allowance that comes in every month, in many cases, is not even enough to cover these frontline positions,” he said.