By: Bulus Afodia, Ikorodu
The Chairman of Kosofe LGA, Moyo Ogunlewe, is facing a massive public backlash f
or allegedly turning a seat of grassroots governance into a citadel of intimidation. What was meant to be a sanctuary for service has morphed into a theater of assault, financial misappropriation and high-handedness.
Punch Newspaper recently reported that the Lagos State High Court has restrained the Chairman from victimizing Councillor David Samuel (of Anthony Village) for allegedly exposing financial impropriety within the council. The court order is a clear indictment of an administration that views internal accountability as a threat.
Serious investigations are underway regarding the alleged diversion of council funds. Reports from Sahara Reporters and Lagos Business News detail claims that the Chairman acquired an ₦800 million property and a luxury vehicle using diverted treasury funds. Whistleblowers also allege the fabrication of Exco minutes to justify payments for unapproved contracts and fictitious seminars.
The case of Ganiyu Olamiji Oyebanjo (Special Adviser on Boundary Matters) is chilling. Oyebanjo accused the Chairman of orchestrating his 15-day illegal detention as retaliation for blowing the whistle on multi-billion naira misappropriations. He alleges that while he was detained, he was seriously tortured to force a confession.
The most recent victim, MITV journalist Habeeb Adejobi, was reportedly assaulted and had his professional job tools seized by loyalists and security personnel right inside the Secretariat. This has been condemned by the Journalists for Democratic Rights (JODER) as a return to military era repression.
When a Chairman’s stock in trade is the suppression of councillors, the arrest of whistleblowers and the beating of journalists, he is no longer a servant but a political liability.
