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Former Osun Council Boss Reacts To Fraud Allegations Against Successor

January 28, 2021

SaharaReporters gathered that the N50 million was a loan obtained by the council boss from a new generation bank.

A former Chairman of Ife South Local Government Area of Osun State, Remi Odewale, has reacted to the fraud allegations against his successor, Mufutau Adegbite.

SaharaReporters had reported how Adegbite illegally diverted N50m from the council’s account for personal use.

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He allegedly misappropriated the funds using his wife, Alimat Adegbite, who is a treasury officer at the council.

SaharaReporters gathered that the N50 million was a loan obtained by the council boss from a new generation bank.

Reacting in a statement on Thursday, Odewale said some documents to back up the accusations against Adegbite were transactions he made during his tenure.[story_link align="left"]89476[/story_link]

He however confirmed that the Chairman’s wife is the treasury officer at the council.

He said, “I have read through a post from one of the leading media houses in the world where the Chairman of my Local Government Area (Ife-South) was accused of embezzlement and fraudulent act. Series of reactions has followed as one Docept info has reportedly reacted on behalf of the accused Chairman backing up their report with a transaction spreadsheet of my 9-month administration in the said Local Government. 

“First of all, I assume office of the caretaker Chairman on the month of May 2017 and left the reign in January 2018, as the chief accounting officer of the council, myself, the council manager and director of administration were all entitled to the transaction SMS alert of all the financial activities during my 9-month stay and I was immediately removed from the account at the expiration of my tenure.

“This has been the tradition of all local government areas across the state and I am dead-sure that only Mr. Mufutau Adegbite (The chairman), the council manager and the director of administration has the sole info of the council transaction.

“Secondly, it was true that Mrs Alimat Adegbite (First Lady) served in my administration as the Cashier 1 officer but she was transferred to the Revenue/Rate department and replaced with one Hamed Agbabiaka when she went for her maternity leave in the month of October. Surprisingly, she was posted back to the cage when she returned from her maternity leave in the same government she’s serving as the First Lady.

“Mr Adegbite will not be the first nor the last council chairman that would be investigated, I was investigated after my tenure as well and I didn’t attack anyone or accuse anybody when I came out clean.  

“The fact that I am contesting the position of chairmanship with Mr Adegbite would not make me rejoice over his adversaries, though I’m totally against the idea of ‘borrowing’ while the state under the leadership of Governor Gboyega Oyetola does not even have a record of borrowing even after carrying out lots of laudable projects.”