Group petitions EFCC, ICPC over alleged diversion of Ondo, LG funds — Govt, ALGON deny claims

By Dayo Johnson, Akure

A civic group in Ondo State, the Ondo Redemption Front (ORF), has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), calling for an investigation into the alleged diversion and mismanagement of state and local government funds.

In the two separate petitions signed by A.O. Ajulo, Esq., Secretary of the group, ORF accused the Ondo State Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of violating the Constitution and the July 2024 Supreme Court judgment that directed that local government allocations from the Federation Account be paid directly to local councils.

The group alleged that while the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) released hundreds of millions of naira monthly to each local government, some councils reportedly received as little as ₦5 million.

Citing the August 2025 FAAC report, the petition listed allocations of ₦742.6 million to Akure South, ₦681.5 million to Ilaje, ₦607.6 million to Akoko South East, ₦564.6 million to Akoko North East, and ₦515.6 million to Ifedore, among others, insisting that “there is a wide gap between official disbursements and what councils actually receive.”

“The Ondo State Government, through its Ministry of Finance and Office of the Accountant-General, has continued to act in violation of the Supreme Court’s directive by intercepting and diverting Local Government funds,” the petition read.

The group urged the anti-graft agencies to audit the State Joint Local Government Account (SJLA), review inflows and outflows over the last two years, and compare the records with projects executed at the grassroots.

In another petition to the EFCC, the ORF called for an inquiry into the use of federal allocations and internally generated revenue (IGR) by the state government in the last ten months.

According to the group, credible fiscal monitoring platforms, including BudgIT and data from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, show that Ondo State received over ₦127 billion between January and August 2025 — ₦109.6 billion between January and July and ₦17.79 billion in August alone.

Despite these inflows, the group alleged that the government has failed to provide transparent records of how the funds were spent, nor has it publicly accounted for its IGR performance.

“The citizens of Ondo State are entitled to know how over ₦127 billion of public funds, excluding IGR, have been managed or expended within less than a year,” the petition stated, calling for a forensic audit of all state and local government accounts.

The ORF described its petitions as being in the public interest, stressing that transparency and accountability remain essential to good governance and fiscal responsibility.

Government, ALGON Deny Allegations

Reacting, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Amidu Takuro, and the Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Ondo State Chapter, Hon. Donald Fasua, dismissed the allegations as false and politically motivated.

Takuro said the state government has ensured proper disbursement of local government funds, adding that the councils have collectively saved ₦15 billion in a joint account to finance capital projects.

“This is proof that they are planning beyond recurrent expenses. The government has also paid over ₦12 billion as gratuities to local government retirees through consistent savings agreed upon at JAAC meetings,” he said.

He maintained that all financial decisions were jointly agreed upon by council chairmen and not imposed by the government.

“What the government has been doing is a unanimous decision. It is not something enforced on anybody. If anyone disagrees, let them come out openly,” Takuro added.

On his part, ALGON Chairman Donald Fasua described the diversion allegation as baseless, insisting that local government chairmen are fully in control of their funds.

“It is not true. The governor is not diverting our funds. Since we assumed office, we have embarked on development projects across our LGAs,” Fasua said.

He cited examples of projects in Akure South, including the purchase of 10 vehicles within five months, as well as ongoing road and water projects across the state.

“We are solely in charge of our finances. If the governor were dictating our funds, we wouldn’t have achieved this much. The facts speak for themselves,” he declared.

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