Eight former local government chairmen in Ondo State are currently in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Benin City, where they are being grilled over allegations of misappropriating billions of naira during their tenures.
According to reports, the arrests were made following petitions from concerned local government workers in various councils.
The alleged financial irregularities are said to have occurred in 2017, during the transition period between former Governor Olusegun Mimiko and late Governor Rotimi Akeredolu.
Sources familiar with the investigation disclosed that the former chairmen are accused of conducting fraudulent transactions using phoney accounts and contracts, purportedly siphoning funds without proper oversight.
These actions were allegedly carried out without regard to the welfare of council workers.
“It’s expected that these documents related to the fraudulent deals are still available for investigation,” a source informed Peoples Gazette.
“The EFCC’s probe spans across all 18 local government areas of the state, indicating widespread financial discrepancies.”
The arrests come shortly after the state’s local government elections, where the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) secured victories across chairmanship seats and some councillorship positions.
Prior to the arrest of the former chairmen, EFCC operatives had reportedly summoned heads of administration departments in the councils for questioning, and subsequently expanded their inquiry to include administrative staff allegedly involved in financial misconduct.
An unnamed labour leader confirmed the EFCC’s invitation to the former chairmen but refrained from providing further details.
Meanwhile, efforts to obtain comments from the state government’s spokesperson, Ebenezer Adeniyan, and EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, were unsuccessful at the time of reporting.
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