What is the purpose of governance if not to work for the good of the greatest number of people? Well, 17 of the 18 local government chairmen in Ondo State have turned that time-tested truth on its head.

In a rare act of callousness and seeming wickedness, the chairmen have been caught stealing funds meant for battling typhoid fever in their respective areas.

They were recently arrested by a special squad of investigators from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, for diverting N72 million proposed by the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, ALGON, Ondo State chapter, to fight the prevalence of typhoid fever in their respective areas.

Daily Sun learnt exclusively that the state chapter of ALGON had, in 2004, proposed to purchase typhoid vaccines for distribution to the 18 local government areas of Ondo State. The amount was deducted at source from their statutory allocations, at the rate of N4 million per local council, between October and November of that year.

But the money was never used for the purpose it was earmarked. The theft, Daily Sun investigation revealed, prompted an indigene, one Ayodeji Faleye, to petition the ICPC.
The commission’s investigators submitted a final report on August 15, 2006. But the chairman, Justice Emmanuel Ayoola, was said not to be satisfied with the job and ordered a special squad, working directly under his office, to do a more comprehensive investigation.

Under scrupulous interrogation, the 17 suspects admitted to have personally received the money specially dedicated to the typhoid vaccine project but did not use it for its primary purpose. Some of them, however, claimed to have bought some quantities of drugs with the deductions. But the ICPC investigators established in their final report that the men appropriated the money to themselves.

Some of the suspects are: Dele Fagoriola, chairman, Akure North Local Government; Komolafe Lawrence, chairman, Akoko North West Local Government; Adeduro Charles, chairman, Ondo East Local Government; Boye Adegbimisoye, chairman, Ile-Oluji/Oke Igbo Local Government; Adeluse Obe; chairman, Ifedore Local Government; Olu Falolu, chairman, Odigbo Local Government; Alonge-Niyi, chairman, Ose Local Government; Fabolude Abimbola, chairman, Owo Local Government; Akin Aibinuomo, chairman, Akoko South East Local Government; Joe Anota, chairman, Akoko South West Local Government; Olemija Stephen Friday, chairman, Akoko North East Local Government, and Odoro Adebanbo Andrew, chairman of the Ilaje Local Government, who collected his council’s deductions in two instalments.

While the 15th suspect collected his council’s deduction through the treasurer, one Toyin Ajegunmo, the 16th and 17th collected theirs through Messers Olu Ikugbagbe and Akinlotan Festus Ayorinde, secretary and treasurer of Irele and Ese-Odo Local Government Areas respectively.

The only chairman not involved in the ALGON vaccine scam is Omolafe Adedayo, chairman of Akure South Local Government, who, sources said, requested that the deduction from his local council be released to it for “a more meaningful project.” And when the N4 million deduction of his council was released, he promptly paid it to the council’s account at the defunct Pacific (now Unity Bank) at Oyemekun Road, Akure, the state capital.

Irked by the theft, Justice Ayoola ordered the immediate arrest and prosecution of the chairmen. The suspects sang like canaries in detention but entered into plea bargain, begging for them to refund the loot in lieu of prosecution. Consequently, a total of N61.5 million was recovered.

But it was uncertain at press time whether ICPC will or will not press charges against the suspects, as there is a strong feeling that the present discovery might just be a tip of the iceberg.
Folu Olamiti, ICPC’s resident consultant, media and events, confirmed the case to Daily Sun in Abuja on Thursday, but bluntly refused to give details. “It should be sufficient to say, for now, that we have investigated the matter and taken appropriate action.”