Image caption: Hon Seun Ojo
PETITION: Ogo-Oluwa council boss replies councillors, accuses constituency’s rep, Smato, of masterminding crisis.
Khalid ABRAHAM
The chairman of Ogo-Oluwa local government of Oyo state, Hon Oluwaseun Ojo, has come out smokingly to denounce the six councillors who wrote a petition against him in which his alleged misdeeds were detailed.
The “damaging” petition written on January 8, 2024, signed by six of the ten councillors in the council area was sent to the Oyo state governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Oyo State Anti-Corruption Agency (OYACA) and other stakeholders, demanding investigations into the alleged heist.
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Among others the aggrieved councillors accused him of diversion of state government’s palliatives as well as of relief materials sent by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), leasing of council’s equipment – grader, bulldozer and excavator – the rent of which he is accused of pocketing and seizure of the legislative arm’s mace.
He’s also accused of forceful deduction of ten percent from their monthly salaries, appropriation of adhoc staff stipends, starving of Ogo-Oluwa West LCDA of fund, misappropriation of the council’s stabilization fund to the tune of N50m among others.
But the chairman responding while speaking with ogbomosoinsightonline.com at his residence Thursday afternoon, dismissed the accusations as mere blackmail; the authors of the petition as victims of evil machination while naming the serving legislator in the constituency (Surulere/Ogo-Oluwa), Hon Sunday Makanjuola a.k.a. Smato, as the mastermind instigating his estranged legislators.
STRUCK BY SHOCK
“I must confess to you l am surprised and shocked by the action of our six legislators,” he began.
“This is because their allegations are baseless, and coming two months to the council election in which l am running for a second term makes it suspicious. Their accusations are totally unfounded.”
He spoke ardenrly, with a lot of confidence though shakened, in the presence of some exco members of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and aides including the secretary to the local government and the state exco representative.
PALLIATIVE HEIST
He explains, “My response is that all local governments in Oyo state received palliatives from the state government and it is the state government that gave the modality for the distribution. The state government sent a coordinator from Ibadan to each local government to undertake the distribution. As a council, moreover as chairman I didn’t know anything about it. Our only involvement was to provide vehicle to aid the distribution to each ward, and they distributed in the ten wards wirhout issue. The items were in packages containing beans, rice, garri and groundnut oil. And they distributted irrespective of party affiliations. So, it was baseless to say the chairman appropriated the palliatives. It is not possible, for what reason? Will it be because l am in penury? I can never do that. God has blessed me, and why should l condescend to selling palliatives meant for our people. God forbids, it cannot happen. It is astounding they will contemplate l did that, it is mere character defamation.”
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DIVERSION OF NEMA RELIEF MATERIALS
“I don’t know anyone from NEMA. What l know is that they came to our council when they wanted to begin, to take people’s data and they did capturing without consideration for political parties. Every person captured including what they would give each, was given a print-out, a slip bearing their photograph. They came back three months later, and the beneficiaries presented the slip before collecting their approved item whether sprayer, grinding machine etc. They didn’t hand over anything to the council authority and what was brought did not exceed what was captured, so, how could l corner the relief materials for sale!”
EXCAVATOR, BULLDOZER, GRADER
“Only the excavator is not in the council secretariat. But what happened was that we hired it out and it got damaged where it is and we are trying to repair it. Hiring equipment out to generate revenue is what every council does, so, it is not for personal enrichment as they claim. However, both the bulldozer and the grader are in the council secretariat (and l demand you go there to see the two). So, they are peddling pure lie to smear me. They will not succeed.”
10 PERCENT
“The ten percent they allude to is a normal thing in politics. This money is to take care of the party and leaders. All party leaders receive a stipend from the money when it is pooled every month. Baba John Famakin, Pa James Alamu a.k.a. Aberuagba, Hon. Solomon Ajadi and several others each receive N40, 000 every month, let them deny it, we have evidences. And the money is raised in the name of the state exco member who is the highest state officer in the council area. So, l do not steal the money. It is figment of their imagination.”
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LCDA FUND, STABILIZATION ACCOUNT
“LCDAs have no allocation. And we don’t have N50m in our stabilization account. It is mere idle talk, unfounded claim. Let them substantiate it. The chairman can’t dip his hand in such fund to mismanage. Where is it done? OYACA has invited me and l have answered the summon. I wrote statement.”
HERE IS THE MASTERMIND OR WHY DIDN’T THEY WRITE SUCH LAST YEAR?
“We have meanwhile discovered they are being manipulated by someone and that is our rep, Hon Sunday Makanjuola a.k.a. Smato. He is the one giving the councillors N200, 000 each every month to write petition against me. Only four out of the ten refused to join them, that they won’t betray their chairman. If they are not being pulled from outside why didn’t they write it earlier? 3 years ago? 2 years ago? 1 year ago? Election now remains two months and they now start to write petition. So, we don’t know our offence against them.
“Let me tell you a little about the said councillors. Lamilokun is from Ajaawa like me; he is my blood brother, he is now being used against me. The Lagbedu ward councillor, Rinde, who is a pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), l wonder why a pastor would become a petition writer. We attended the same school in Ajaawa and that is why we brought him in. And Julius, he was a toll collector, drawing rope on roads, it is from there l took him to be councilor. Why then should someone like that join the conspirators. Then, councillor ward 7, he was presented to me by a council chairman friend in Oyo who begged me passionately to use him then and we did. That of ward 3 was brought by Baba Onipele, that he is his son, but we later discovered that he is not. Then, one of them is physically challenged, from Idewure, we gave him consideration because of his condition. But he is now enticed by illicit money to start writing petition. Let me ask you, should one stop rendering assistance? We don’t know our offence. We have however discovered Smato is behind it. And this is someone we worked for to win election. Why is he now targeting us? Let them tell us our offence.
“On a final analysis, l can only say it’s because they couldn’t get return ticket as councillors and it is the ten of them but why are only six being instigated? And it is not me that did not give them ticket but the party as a whole that insisted they were not returning. It is not me l emphasize. So, l repeat l don’t know why someone from another local government is manipulating them. Is it because of filthy lucre? Why is it they are writing petition two months to election?”
MACE BROUHAHA
“It is not something that concerns me as chairman. I have never seen their mace! The legislative arm is a separate entity, it has nothing to do with the executive arm. I am never part of their sitting, l am never part of their operations, so, l know nothing about their mace or gown. I don’t dabble into their activities.” (The Leader of the House Hon Gbenro who was with him affirmed what the chairman said saying it had nothing to do with the chairman).
ADHOC STAFF
“We included our vigilante members in the list and they are many, several of our health workers working in dispensaries are in adhoc staff list, so also most of our drivers. No chairman will include his name in the adhoc staff list. It is not possible because there is due process. The 42 they said l appropriated and that l included members of my family in the remaining 100 is not possible. I can give you the list.”
SMATO WANTS TO LEAVE PDP AND WANTS TO DESTROY THE PARTY
“I insist they are being manipulated, used by Smato, and it is because the man wants to leave our party and so is desirous of causing crisis before leaving. We are not fighting him, he is our rep, l am chairman, does he want to be chairman or do l want to dislodge him?” So, what is his real motivation? We don’t know but because he wants to be leader by force he is instigating crisis in our council area so that he can take people along to his next destination. But no one is stopping him, so, why is he precipitating trouble? And this is someone that never funds the party, you won’t attend meetings at the local level, you won’t send money. All councils are supported by their reps. Look at (Hon Femi) Onireti in Ogbomoso federal constituency, he gave buses to the candidates of Ogbomoso North, Ogbomoso South and Oriire local governments to aid their campaign efforts. However, petition is what Smato gave me. Smato does not support my campaign with even N1, 000, what he is giving me is petition. He doesn’t release a dime because he is bent on destroying this party because he is eyeing another party. We are in the thick of campaign now and he has not contributed anything.”
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BUT I VISITED HIM ON JANUARY 1
On January 1, myself and my wife, just the two of us, we drove to his house and l raised many issues with him, that we should organize the party properly and he said no problem. But after that what l discovered is that he started meeting with our councillors clandestinely to incite them against me. Yet he made no positive contribution in Ogo-Oluwa local government.”
Asked why the said Smato is not formenting trouble in Surulere, his local government, Hon Ojo asserted, “Go and write it down, the man is going back to APC (All Progressive Congress). And he wants to provoke problem in PDP. We don’t know why he is focusing on Ogo-Oluwa to cause mayhem. The only thing we know is that he is leaving our party and wants to cause maximum problem.”
BUT NO CAUSE FOR ALARM
“No, no, no. No cause for alarm. They are being used. Their subterfuge will fall like packs of cards. But we can’t really fight them because we built them to the level they are and we wouldn’t want them to lose relevance like that. I only beg our people to vote for us in the forthcoming election. They should vote me as chairman for more dividends of democracy.”
