Just In : Ondo State House Of Assembly Speaker In EFCC Over Financial Fraud

Anti- graft agency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has invited the Speaker, Ondo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Bamidele Oleyelogun over alleged financial scam rocking the Assembly.

Also invited are the Chairman, House on Tertiary Education, Felemu Gudu Bankole and Babatunde Amos Olowogorioye, Deputy Clerk and the Clerk of the Assembly, Bode Adeyelu.

However, two civil servants of the Assembly, Olusegun Kayode Oyadeji and O.J. Afolabi were alleged to have been detained over the weekend in connection with the alleged fraud.

Sources revealed that the fraud was allegedly committed in 2019 when the lawmakers were said to have been penciled down to attend a two-day seminar organised by National Productivity Centre, Lagos.

According to a source in the Assembly, the speaker, the House committee chairman and four other members who were members of the Committee were to attend the seminar that was slated for Wednesday, 11th and Thursday 12th of December 2019.

Documents obtained stated that “the seminar was aimed at institutionally productivity, consciousness and excellence in service among workers and organisations in both public and private sectors, to accord workers and organizations the platform in achieving high productivity as well as giving impetus the seminar in charting the pathway in revitalizing the Educational Sector.”

The clerk, the deputy speaker, the committee chairman of the House Committee on Tertiary Education and two members of the committee and the Clerk were scheduled to attend the seminar.

However, the bubble burst when it was discovered that there was neither such seminar organised nor attended and the N2.4million released by the state Ministry of Finance ostensibly for the seminar was shared by some individuals at the Assembly.

Press Officer to the Assembly, Mr. Seinde Falokun, when asked about the development, denied having knowledge of the arrest of the lawmakers.

He said as a civil servant, he was not authorised to speak.

Chairman, House Committee on Information, Gbenga Omole could not be reached on phone. He didn’t reply the text message sent to him via his mobile line on the issue.