By EricJames Ochigbo
The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) 2027 governorship candidate in Oyo, Mr Adebiyi Adedapo has called on the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) governorship candidate, Mr Bimbo Adekanmbi, to give account of his stewardship as Finance Commissioner in the stage.
In a statement on Thursday, Adedapo said that Oyo people needed clarity on allegations of the missing N30 billion in local government funds which occurred during Adekanmbi tenure.
According to Adedapo, Adekanmbi cannot preside over finances of the state and then wash his hands of what happened under his watch.
Adedapo said that attempt to hide behind the bureaucratic separation between state and local government finances, will not surface.
He argued that as the state’s top finance official at the time, Adekanmbi could not credibly claim total ignorance of transactions involving N30 billion in public funds.
“I call on Adekanmbi to provide a detailed explanation of what he knows about the alleged transactions, clarify his role in the management of local government finances during his tenure, and make all relevant records available to the public,” he said.
However, Adekanmbi who was Commissioner for Finance under Gov. Abiola Ajimobi denied any involvement in the alleged missing funds and insisted the matter concerned local government alone.
In an interview with newsmen, Adekanmbi said that he never attended any meeting of the Joint Accounts Committee (JAC) and that the records relating to the funds were available.
He said that the money allegedly went missing in the local government saying that the state government must be separated from the local government.