Top officials of the Ondo State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (OSOPADEC) appeared before the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) on Wednesday to address allegations of a N463 million fraud involving the commission.
Those who appeared before the CCB are the commission’s chairman, Mr Biyi Poroye; the Secretary, Dr Abike Bayo-Ilawole; Mr Olukorede Adeshina-Oladapo; and Mr Dare Oretan.
After Wednesday’s appearance, Bayo-Ilawole told newsmen in Akure that the fund was not missing as alleged, but used for various projects approved by Gov. Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
“The allegation has been misappropriation of funds. I think, maybe N463 million. And to me, I just felt the record would speak for itself, and that has been my response.
“I told them nothing of such happened, and the record will speak for itself. Like the one they quoted, which was sent to my father’s account, it was a long-term project.
“The man was a contractor then and was never up to that term, but the record will speak for itself, as I said.
“Then the two officers’ names were captured. One or two things that I know about it were that they supervised other colleagues.
“It could be their allowances, it could be the allowance of officers or what they needed to spend on the project. So they should allow me to go through the record, and we will separate this and know what actually transferred.
“But one of the major things that is obvious is that this fund was not a one-time fund; it was for a period of time.
“We are not talking about funds missing. It’s not missing. The projects the money was meant for were, in fact, completed. We got the necessary approval for the projects,” she said.
Also speaking, one of the invited officials, Mr Olukorede Adeshina-Oladapo, Director, Project Planning and Development, OSOPADEC, said that the state governor had approved the direct labour projects.
Adeshina-Oladapo explained that the money was sent to his personal bank account to carry out 21 school renovations and other projects in the mandate area of Ilaje Local Government Area of the state.
“The transactions were done by direct labour. And during the course of renovation, since it’s direct labour and we are going to control the spending, they were sending the money, and some of it came to my account.
“It is just to disburse for labour, to procure materials. The money didn’t come in bulk; it was coming in bits and pieces,” he said.
According to him, it is the practice in the commission to pay money into a personal bank account for direct labour projects.
Also, Mr Dare Oretan, the Deputy Director of Project Monitoring and Evaluation at OSOPADEC, said the funds transferred to his bank account were intended for direct labour projects to renovate schools in the state’s riverine area.
Oretan added that some projects had been completed, while others were ongoing.
In her words, while speaking to newsmen, the Chief Superintendent of CCB, Mrs R. O. Akingbemila, said that it is a breach of the code of conduct to pay money from the commission into individuals’ personal bank accounts; hence the invitation.
She stated that the case involves N463 million transferred to personal accounts, in violation of the code of conduct.
“You don’t send money to a private account from the Commission’s account. That is the purpose of inviting them. And they have explained their own part, but it’s a follow-up.
“We have told them to bring some documents, including their bank statements and some other documents that will back it up. So we’re expecting them on Monday by 12 p.m.,” she said.
