Gov Abiodun: Impeached LG chair lied, spoilt my name

Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has expressed concern that that Wale Adedayo, the ousted chairman of Ijebu East Local Government Area, lied against him, spoilt his name and incited the public against the government following allegations of diversion of the councils’ allocations. Adedayo accused Abiodun of diverting statutory Federal allocations of all the 20 […]

Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has expressed concern that that Wale Adedayo, the ousted chairman of Ijebu East Local Government Area, lied against him, spoilt his name and incited the public against the government following allegations of diversion of the councils’ allocations.

Adedayo accused Abiodun of diverting statutory Federal allocations of all the 20 LGs since the elected Chairmen came on board two years ago.

However, the table turned against Adedayo last week as he was impeached by five out of the eleven-member Legislative Council of the LG.

Abiodun, according to a statement, made available to newsmen by his Chief Press Secretary, Lekan Adeniran, in Abeokuta on Tuesday, met with leaders of the APC in Ijebu East Local Government, led by a former member of the House of Representatives, who represented Ijebu North, Ijebu-East and Ogun Waterside between 2007 and 2011, Chief Segun Osibote.

In his remarks, the governor said he is prepared to defend himself against the allegation of funds diversion by Adedayo.

According to the him, members of the party must abide by its constitution and be ready to defend their utterances at all times, noting that until people are made to bear the consequences of their words and actions, they won’t desist from lying.

He added that he is prepared to ensure that Adedayo is held responsible for what he has said as he must prove the false allegations he made against his person.

“There are two things; he lied against me as the governor, he lied against me as Dapo Abiodun, he spoilt my name, and he tried to incite the public against the government. Wale Adedayo has to answer all these allegations one after the other.

“We have to instill discipline in governance, discipline in the party, people have to become accountable to what they say. You must be accountable for what you say so that you will always think very well before taking any nasty action.

“People have to be made to bear the consequences of whatever they say and until we do that, they will not stop and I am prepared to ensure that Wale Adedayo is held responsible for what he has said.

“He said he is committed to what he has said. He has to go and prove and show that I, Dapo Abiodun, Governor of Ogun State diverted public funds. He has to go and prove that,” the governor said.

Abiodun hinted that he had known Adedayo before he became the Governor, saying the ousted chairman was not his enemy.

“I have known Wale Adedayo for so many years. I had been supporting him before I became Governor. When I became Governor, I appointed him as a consultant on media. I did not ask for the input of leaders of Ijebu East Local Government before I appointed him, so, Wale is not my enemy.

“When it got to the issue of council elections, I thought to myself that council chairmanship isn’t meant for him because I know the kind of a person he is. I know that he wasn’t a person stable in character.

“The funds for the local government go straight into the account of local governments where they meet, share and remove what we call first-line charge from it; the salary of health workers, teachers in the local government, staff of the local government themselves and the salary of traditional rulers.

“He himself collects his own security votes. It has never been late. I even look for projects for them. Sometimes, I dip my hand into state funds for them so they can also have projects to execute. That same person can now say that I have been diverting local government funds,” he said.

Abiodun warned against any attempt to destabilise the peace currently being enjoyed in the state.

“Those who think that they can distabilize this state won’t sleep. They won’t even rest. This state will continue to move forward, either with them or without them because it is God himself that has appointed me as the Governor of this state at this particular time,” he said.

Earlier, the Chairman of APC in the local government, Chief Bayo Balogun, noted that the impeached chairman was running the local government with no regard for the party.

He assured that members of APC in Ijebu East are solidly behind the Governor and his administration at all times.