The Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has launched a scathing attack on Governor Dapo Abiodun over his Christmas presentation of 20 Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) to local government council chairmen, describing the gesture as a “brazen affront” to local government autonomy and transparent grassroots administration.
In a statement issued on Friday, by its Publicity Secretary, Otunba Arc. Kayode Adebayo, the opposition party alleged that the gift was suspicious and smacked of quid pro quo, warning that it could amount to trading luxury vehicles for statutory rights and financial allocations due to the councils.
The PDP accused the governor of prioritising what it called “transactional politics” over constitutional governance, insisting that local councils required full financial and administrative autonomy, not luxury vehicles, to function effectively.
“The governor’s claim that the SUVs will boost local government performance is a weak and deceptive justification,” the party said. “It is full autonomy, not exotic SUVs, that guarantees productivity, accountability and effective governance at the grassroots.”
According to the PDP, the vehicle distribution symbolised profligacy and misplaced priorities at a time Ogun State was grappling with dilapidated infrastructure, insecurity and poor public services.
“It is most unfortunate that under Governor Abiodun’s watch, roads have collapsed, schools are neglected, health centres are crumbling and communities are unsafe, yet the government finds resources to procure SUVs,” the statement read.
“Local governments are being incapacitated as their statutory funds are siphoned or indirectly exchanged for loyalty.”
The party further argued that the development ran contrary to the spirit of recent pronouncements by the Presidency and the courts on local government autonomy, alleging that the Ogun State Government continued to exert control over councils through financial inducements.
Raising constitutional concerns, the PDP questioned whether the governor was empowered to provide official vehicles for elected council chairmen, asking whether the SUVs were intended as official cars and under what legal framework they were procured.
“These are fundamental questions Governor Abiodun and his APC must answer before embarking on this treacherous voyage of misplaced priorities,” the party said.
The PDP urged residents of the state to “see through what it described as a sinister ploy” against local government autonomy, stressing that autonomy was a constitutional imperative, not a privilege to be negotiated.
With the governor’s tenure winding down, the party alleged that the administration risked leaving the state’s local governments “in shambles and in shackles of inefficiency.”
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