LGs under Governor Makinde :  The Chairmen are victims of a reaper of glory

By Sola Abegunde

Activities of Local Governments under Governor Seyi Makinde for the past five years plus has been nothing to write home about.

Right from Day one, when the Governor illegally dissolved the validly elected Council Chairmen under late Governor Ajimobi till today, the Local Governments have been  grounded by Governor Makinde.

In 2019, precisely 29th of May of the year, Governor Makinde announced the illegal dissolutions of the Local Governments as constituted and asked the Heads of Local Governments Administration, ( HLAs) to take control of the Local Governments.

Not long after that, he compiled a list of Caretaker Committees to take over the governance of the 33 Local Governments.

Curiously, Governor Makinde placed an embargo on the accounts of the 33 Local Governments immediately the Caretaker Committees were sworn in.

The embargo lasted for several months.

In case you’re still wondering why the Governor took such a suspicious step, I will tell you that the action was premeditated for ulterior motives.

Just imagine how much would have accumulated in the accounts of the 33 Local Governments for those period of time that the embargo lasted.

One would have thought that a flurry of activities would follow the removal of the needles embargo on the accounts of the Local Governments but that was never to be.

Apart from payments of salaries, Governor Makinde started giving out peanuts to the Local Governments Caretaker Committees Chairmen while he sat on the fat monthly Allocations from Abuja.

A meagre sum N10 million was allegedly given to each Local Government monthly and the Caretaker Committees Chairmen mostly shared the amounts with their Leaders.

It will be interesting if Governor Makinde can disprove this allegation by publishing the monthly Allocations for the 33 Local Governments and how it was shared between May 2019 till today.

Even after the Local Government Election of 2021, the supposedly elected Local Government Chairmen were not treated differently from the Caretaker Committees Chairmen.

One would now wonder what exactly has been happening to the remainder of the monthly Allocations for the 33 Local Governments?

Governor Seyi Makinde illegally engaged in the spendings of the funds through some projects he executed in some parts of the state.

The reconstruction of the Akesan Market, the rehabilitation of the Omi Adio/Ido Road, the Light Up Oyo, the Eruwa New Garage/ Oke Ola junction Road, Alayande junction/Isaba junction Road, the NCE Lanlate Campus Roads and many more are typical examples of the projects done with Local Governments funds but which the Governor not only provided the contractors but also claimed credits for the projects.

Note that the Eruwa New Garage/Oke Ola junction Road, Alayande junction/Isaba junction Road and the NCE Lanlate Campus Roads were awarded to the younger brother of the Speaker of the Oyo state House of Assembly and the said projects have been abandoned for years.

The Health Centres built across the Local Governments were done with Local Governments funds but check the contractors and who claimed credits for those projects!

While the Local Government Chairmen have been made to look like what Yorubas refer to as “Gbewudanis”, Governor Makinde has been going about, chest out, taking undeserved credits for projects done with Local Governments funds.

Yorubas call such attitude ” o ja Ile onile bo tie leyin”.

I will also like to use this medium to call out the Governor to tell citizens of Oyo state how many projects he did with Local Governments funds.

I forgot to add the Garages to the list of the projects suspected to have been done with Local Governments funds.

Even though, those were built with borrowed money. On whose stead was the Loan taken?

There is no controversy about whose responsibility it is to maintain Parks and garages.

The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has placed such responsibilities on the Local Governments.

As I have said, Governor Makinde needs to tell citizens of Oyo state who did what and with what resources?

Perhaps, we could see the need to give the redundant Local Government Chairmen some credit and their “Eleda” will also pray for the Governor.

I am not sure Governor Makinde would be left with much if you remove the projects, which credits should go to Local Government Chairmen from his list of achievements.

I think it is incumbent on citizens of Oyo state to call on Governor Seyi Makinde to avail the public with a comprehensive analysis of the received monthly Allocations for the Local Governments since he became Governor and what was done with the money.

What is the actual amount of Loan he has collected on behalf of the Local Governments and for what purpose?

This is a very important matter.

Ordinarily,  Governor Seyi Makinde should have no business accounting for Local Government funds but since he has put it upon himself to be the Governor – general of the Local Governments as well as the Governor of Oyo state, there is no one who is more qualified than himself to account for the funds.

His agitations and displeasures against the judgment of the Supreme Court are borne out of the fact that the fat cow with the most milk has been taken away from his reach and the legs of the corpse that was buried under the cover of darkness is becoming visible to the eyes.

The Local Government Chairmen ought not to appear that worthless.

It is the reaper of glory who has merged their glory with his own.

Sola Abegunde writes from Eruwa