All the Sole Administrators, Heads of Local Government Service (HOS)/ Directors of Finance of Local Governments in Kogi State except Mr. Ablaka, the HOS of Igalemela Local Government are currently in detention at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for giving the Council Fund to Mr. Yahaya Bello, the Kogi State Governor.
Bello summoned all the Sole Administrators, HOS, Directors of Finance for a meeting at Lokoja, Kogi State Capital over monies paid to the Councils by the Federal Government.
Mr. Onoja who gave only his first name told REPORTER via a telephone that the Governor summoned the Sole Administrators, HOS and Directors of Finance to the Government House in a bid to force them to hand over the monies paid to the Councils by the Federal Government to the State Government.
He said they have been in a meeting with the Governor at Government House since Tuesday and the Governor is not likely to agree to release the funds back to them.
He told Reporter that, the Governor has asked them not to pay Salaries and carry out any Project until when they are ready to go by His instructions and directives on how the money will be spent.
At the end of the meeting, Bello asked each of Local Government Sole Administrators, HOS/Directors of Finance to bring N30 million from their Council’s Account… a
demand the Sole AdministratorDirectors, HOS/Directors of Finance asked the Governor to produce an approval letter from Muhammadu Buhari, Nigerian President authorising them to give him N30 million from the Council’s Account.
Another source told the Reporter that they are afraid of going to jail and aren’t ready to be picked up by the Nigeria Anti-Corruption Agencies and Economic Crimes and Financial Commission (EFCC).
However, the Sole Administrators, HOS/Directors of Finance couldn’t maintain the resistance and have since been forced to give N30million each to the State Government.