PDP wants Oshiomhole to refund billions deducted from LGs

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Edo State chapter has come down hard on Governor Adams Oshiomhole for denying local governments in the state the wherewithal to meet their financial obligations.

Chairman of the party in the state, Chief Dan Orbih, challenged Oshiomhole to refund all illegal deductions he made from statutory allocations due the Local Government councils in the state, which he said runs into tens of billions, so that they can commence payments of all arrears of workers’ salaries.

He said, “The truth is that rather than supporting the local government councils, Oshiomhole has impoverished them by not only denying them their full allocations as and when due but also denied them their share of State IGR”.

Orbir who spoke to newsmen in Okada, Ovia NE local government area, said it was untrue for the governor to say his government has not been tampering with one kobo of Local Government funds.

While appealing to local government workers in the state to protect their Permanent Voters Card, PVC, so that on September 10 2016, they can vote out the APC, the State PDP chairman said with Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu as governor, council workers will not only get their full allocations but their salaries as and when due.

Read also: Oshiomhole lacks moral capacity to talk on corruption –Ize-Iyamu

According to him, “It is common knowledge that every month, the Governor’s office deducts millions at source from allocations due the local councils, leaving them with just enough to meet the basic needs of their councils. All the deductions can finance the arrears of salaries.

“If the councils were left to manage their money by themselves, including internally generated revenues which many of the councils have depended on over the years to sustain themselves without the deductions, the problem of paying salaries would not have gone this bad”.

He added that the governor should be courageous enough to tell the truth about local government council finances to the Edo public, noting, that allocations due the councils in Edo as published is often different from what they get at the end of the day.

Orbih stated, that “we can confirm that the reason he has refused to conduct elections to fill the vacant positions of chairmen and councilors is to enable him squander allocations due the local governments in the name of saving it for them”.

The PDP chieftain also challenged the state governor to publicize the total amount paid to the local governments from the Internally Generated Revenue of the state since he assumed office eight years ago.

“The truth is that rather than supporting the local government councils, Oshiomhole has impoverished them by not only denying them their full allocations as and when due but also denied them their share of State IGR”.

 

 

RipplesNigeria …without borders, without fears

 

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now