Union urges Aiyedatiwa to step in as OSOPADEC crisis deepens
By Boye Oyeyemi –
The Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees at the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission has appealed to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to urgently intervene in the festering crisis rocking the commission.
The union said allegations and counter-allegations over the diversion of about N463m meant for projects, changes to bank signatories, and the controversial disbursement of N90m to unknown beneficiaries had destabilised the agency.
It warned that the internal wrangling was already threatening the smooth operation of OSOPADEC and had contributed to delays in the payment of workers’ January salaries.
Chairman of the union at OSOPADEC, Comrade Sola Ademuwagun, said personal interests had overtaken the commission’s statutory responsibility of delivering development projects to oil-producing communities.
He alleged that established procedures were being undermined, describing the situation as an assault on due process and the authority of the administrative secretary as the head of the bureaucracy.
Ademuwagun appealed to the governor to urgently clarify the roles of the chairman, executive directors and administrative secretary, introduce a functional organogram, and restore orderly file routing to prevent further tension.
Responding to the allegations, the Director of Project Planning and Development, Engr. Olubunmi Filani, denied diverting funds, saying monies paid into his account were for approved direct labour projects and had been utilised for visible works, including school renovations.
Filani added that only N323m had so far been spent from the N498m approved for the renovation of 21 schools, noting that the balance remained in the commission’s capital account pending the completion of ongoing projects.
