Over N1.9 billion of the 2023 budget of Eti-Osa East Local Council Development Area (LCDA) in Lagos State has allegedly gone missing under the chairmanship of John Campos Ogundare.
The missing fund belonging to the council’s taxpayers was discovered during an oversight function carried out by legislative councillors who also uncovered several financial irregularities and violations of procurement laws.
The Tenders Board, responsible for approving and awarding contracts said they were unable to hold meetings because the Deputy Chairman Hon. Ismaila Azeez, who holds the constitutional role as the chairman of the Tenders Board Committee, reportedly claimed ignorance of any tender meeting.
In the documents obtained by WikkiTimes, the members of the council claimed uncovering inflated contracts, substandard work, and instances of projects either abandoned or non-existent which were all approved and fully paid for.
They also claimed that the violations occurred with the knowledge of some principal officers in the council including the Chief of Staff to the chairman, Mr Taiwo Affini.
WikkiTimes discovered that they subsequently took the matter to the Lagos State House of Assembly insisting that the council’s Chairman Ogundare executed projects beyond his approved threshold of N35 million without proper authorization, revealing that projects within the range of N150 million were undertaken without proper approvals.
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A letter dated December 19, 2023, from the legislative members of the Eti-Osa East LCDA addressed to the House indicated that N3.6 billion was approved for the Legislative Oversight Function for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd quarters, while a deficit of N1.9 billion was uncovered.
The letter titled “Report on Legislative Oversight Function For 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Quarter Apprisal and Budget Performance on the Year 2023 Approval Budget of Eti Osa East Local Council Development Area” was signed by the Leader of the House, Hon. Aletu Sulaimon and the House Majority leader Hon Agbaje-Salami Tawalitu.
“The budget deficit of N1.907,000,000,00 needs explanation as at when, where and how?”, the letter partly read.
The letter detailed the financial irregularities and executive misconduct by Mr Ogundare, whom they accused of diverting funds from crucial sectors as the Chairman of the council.
The legislative members outlined several concerns, including the non-payment of running costs, neglect of political office holders’ payments, unauthorized projects/contracts, non-compliance with the approved budget, and deliberate hindrance of legislative operations by withholding funds.
They also pointed out the non-cooperation from some officials of the Council including the Treasurer Asanga Modupe who neglected their duties and the Contractors handling construction projects.
However, the alleged political pressure from the All Progressive Congress (APC)’s leaders in the local council, led by Omooba Murphy Adetoro, suppressed the issue by influencing the Lagos State House of Assembly and the committees responsible for Public Accounts and Local Government to look the other way.
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In another letter from the Supervisors Forum of the council addressed to the Council Leader, dated January 2, 2024, the members corroborated that there were several irregularities uncovered under the leadership of Mr John Campos Ogundare as the Chairman of Eti-Osa East LCDA.
The letter was undersigned by six supervisors including Sarumi Ajibade, Samad Ogumbo, Abidemi Rasaq and Lookman Yisa.
“We the undersigned Supervisors in Eti-Osa East LCDA wish to draw your attention to the irregularities bordering on the budget presented to the legislators by the Executive Chairman (Mr. John campus) on Friday 29th December, 2023.”
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The supervisors disassociated themselves from the 2024 Appropriation Bill, stressing irregularities such as the absence of an Executive Council review of the 2023 budget and non-inclusive preparation of the 2024 Appropriation Bill.
Other reasons according to the members were the inflation of capital project budgets and the bill’s presentation without Executive Council ratification.
They commended the legislators of the council for their stance to unearth irregularities to the public, calling for a thorough investigation into the financial management of Eti-Osa East LCDA.
“We hereby categorically dissociate ourselves from the unlawful presentation on the following reasons: The Executive Council had not reviewed the performance of the 2023 budget.
“This is contrary to the Lagos State Administrative Guideline which stipulates that: Each Local Government/Local Council Development Area shall undertake periodic performance reviews and also establish a feedback system using Key Performance Indicators should be developed using performance review tools such as the Medium Term Sector Strategy.”
“We tried to raise this issue during the executive meeting held on Monday 18th December, 2023; however, the intolerant nature of the chairman made this abortive.
“He often denied us (supervisors) our right to perform our duties as required by the law,” the letter read in part.
In response to the discoveries, the “Concerned Taxpayers” of the Council, petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-graft agencies, to conduct a thorough audit of the local government’s accounts.
The leaked report by the “Concerned Taxpayers” in the local council stressed that the chairman failed to provide a satisfactory account for the significant budget of 1.9 billion.
The letter to the anti-graft agency dated December 21, 2023, was received and acknowledged by Lagos EFCC Zonal Commander on January 2, 2024.
The same letter was sent to the Speaker of the House and received and acknowledged by the office of the Speaker on January 3, 2024.
CHAIRMAN, OTHERS AVOID COMMENTING ON ALLEGATIONS
Several attempts to reach out to Chairman Ogundare on the phone were unsuccessful. He also did not respond to WhatsApp messages and SMS sent to him for comment. The email sent to him was ignored as well.
Modupe Asanga, the treasurer of the council answered the reporter’s phone call but abruptly ended the call when the reporter introduced himself as a journalist, and she refused to pick up subsequent calls.
When this reporter reached out to Taiwo, the chief of staff, who is reportedly aware of the alleged financial misconduct, he declined to comment, insisting that inquiries should be directed to the council’s secretariat.
Abidemi Rasaq, one of the members of the Council’s Supervisory Forum, when contacted by WikkiTimes, said she was unsure if the funds had been recovered.
Another member of the Supervisors forum of the council, Sarumi Rasheed disclosed that the matter was being handled by the Lagos State House of Assembly, and he could not confirm if the funds were retrieved.
Lookman Yisa, also a member of the Supervisors forum, stated that the funds were not necessarily diverted but rather not properly accounted for, revealing that Ogundare was instructed by the House of Assembly to reimburse a portion of the funds. “I heard that he will repay N500 and something million. But I will ask further.”
Several phone calls to Obasa Mudashiru, the Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly were not answered. The text message as well as the WhatsApp chats were not responded to.
Also, the Speaker did not respond to the email sent to him for comment on the matter said to be handled by the State House of Assembly.
This investigation is produced with support from the Wole Soyinka Center for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) under the Collaborative Media Engagement for Development Inclusivity and Accountability Project (CMEDIA) and funded by MacArthur Foundation.
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