A call has gone out from the Ondo chapter of the All Progressives Congress to the governor of the state, Olusegun Mimiko to immediately return stolen funds.
Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo state, on Thursday, called on Governor Olusegun Mimiko, to return all funds allegedly stolen from the treasury of the state by his government before the expiration of his government.
SaharaReporters reports that the party said the advice became necessary because the governor would no longer enjoy the immunity as entrusted in section 308 of the 1999 constitution as amended after leaving office.
The statement was made by the party's spokesperson, Omo'ba Abayomi Adesanya. Adesanya noted that it would also be 'honorable' for the governor to trend on the path of integrity and accountability with less than a year to the expiration of his administration.
He disclosed that the opposition party was aware that Mimiko had been deducting an average of N1.5 billion naira monthly from the state allocation as security votes for the past seven years of administration without any corresponding benefits.
The party image maker, however, alleged that Governor Mimiko's government has also embezzled the monthly13% Oil Derivation Fund from the Federation Account for the development of the Oil Producing Communities of Ilaje and Ese-Odo Local Government areas.
"The Local Government allocation funds accrued to the State from the Federation Account has been diverted and siphoned, rendering this third tier of government and its workforce redundant, rather than being a grassroots centre for good governance and development.
"Since February 2009, when Dr. Olusegun Mimiko took over the reins of government from Dr. Olusegun Agagu, over N1trn has accrued to the state from the Federation Account with little or no corresponding development and benefits to the people of Ondo State.
"This present government also inherited a liquid cash of about N44b from the preceding government of Dr. Olusegun Agagu without debts. But today, the Mimiko-led government has wickedly placed about N100b debt burden on the people of Ondo State with nothing to show for it", he said.
The statement cautioned the Mimiko-led government mostly the caucus members of his cabinet who "had corruptly" benefited from the looted funds to immediately return such
"We have information on good authority, on the whereabouts of the money meant for the people of the State, are kept in various forms scattered outside the shores of Nigeria", it said.