From Lateef Dada, Osogbo
The crisis over the control of local government in Osun State has deepened as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) allegedly prevented the newly elected local government chairmen under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from opening accounts for statutory allocations.
Speaking at a press conference in Osogbo on Tuesday, the Osun chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), Sarafadeen Awotunde, accused the CBN of frustrating their efforts to open accounts, alleging that such forms had been given to the chairmen of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who, he said, had been sacked by the court.
He explained that a delegation of six PDP council executives visited the CBN branch in Osogbo on Monday after receiving reports that APC council chairmen were attempting to obtain account opening forms, saying, “On getting there, we talked to the person we met at the CBN Osogbo about it. He promised to relay our message to the Controller General of CBN about it, but we are sure the CG knew the rightful owner of the form and legally backed council chairmen who are eligible to append their signatures.
“While we settled that one, they gave us 8am today (Tuesday) to come to their office. We arrived at the CBN quarter to 8 in the morning to wait for the controller, but we later learned that she is inside her office, probably she went through the back door to her office and doesn’t want to attend to us. We are harmless; those of us who are eligible for the form, we are about six of us.
“After a while, they started rushing to close the gate on the instruction of the controller. There was behaviour from a lady who is a security operative from the Mopol department; she uttered words that are unprofessional. We have her recorded, and we will take her matter up in due time. We informed her that probably she is not aware of the Appeal Court verdict which affirmed the sacking of Yes/No chairmen.
“What is happening in Osun is illegal. CBN doesn’t need to be embarrassing itself over this matter. We request that they should transfer the Osun Controller General if she feels she can’t do what is right.
“We, the newly elected chairmen, are silent and we don’t make trouble. We appreciate all our civil servants; we don’t want anarchy or chaos in Osun State, but enough is enough.”
He, however, commended Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, for his maturity in handling the crisis and called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene.
He said, “We appreciate our Governor for the fatherly and mature roles he played during the imbroglio. What the CBN Osun Controller has done is illegal by releasing even one form to those imposters. We appeal to the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Ministry of Finance to do what is right.”
