The Ondo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party has alleged that the former chairmen of the 18 local government areas in the state are still collecting salaries after they have left office.

Theopposition party also alleged that the immediate-past chairmen refused to hand over to the most senior council official in their respective councils after their tenure had expired in August.

This was contained in a statement issued by the state PublicitySecretary of the PDP, Mr Kennedy Peretei, on Thursday.

According to Peretei, the development was part of the consequences of the absence of the state governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, who is still recuperating in Ibadan, Oyo State.

The opposition party said,“The multidimensional consequences of the absence of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State from his duty post, due to ill health, once again, have come to the fore. The former local government chairmen, whose three-year tenure ended in August this year, are still drawing salaries from the state treasury.

“The ugly development is simply because no new political helmsmen have been appointed by the governor who has been battling with his health and there is no agreement between warring factions of the government as to how to fill these sensitive vacancies.

“The former council bosses also refused to hand over their official vehicles despite the dissolution of the councils by Lucky Aiyedatiwa during his tenure as acting governor. The impunity orchestrated by Akeredolu and his collaborators on the people of Ondo State is unprecedented,” it added.

The opposition party also criticized the state’s absence from President Bola Tinubu’s meeting with the National Police Council in Abuja, which was attended by all governors or their deputies, on Tuesday. They also pointed out that the state has not been represented at regular National Economic Council meetings in Abuja since Akeredolu fell ill.

“The Ondo State chapter of the PDP once again reiterates that the plan of Akeredolu’s handlers to profit from this sorry state of affairs and completely run the state aground will be resisted by all lawful means,” declared the statement.

However, the former LG chairs, who were members of the All Progressives Congress, denied the allegations, dismissing them as “a lie from the pit of hell.”

Speaking on behalf of the former chairs, the immediate-past chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria in Ondo State, Mr. Augustine Oloruntogbe, stated that none of the members had any financial involvement in their respective councils after leaving office.

Oloruntogbe, who was the former Chairman of the Akoko South-West Local Government Area of the state, said, “The PDP in Ondo State has been spreading falsehood against us, claiming that we, the former chairpersons, are still receiving salaries from our respective local governments.

“We are here to vehemently deny these allegations and to inform the world that it is a lie from the pit of hell.

“Since we left the local government, we have never received a dime from our local governments. Even when I was appointed as one of the panel members to chair the palliatives, I had to send a representative since I was no longer in the local government.

“We haven’t had any financial relationships with our local governments since we left. We left on August 30, 2023,” he said.

Similarly, supporting his colleague, a former chairman of the Idanre Local Council, Prince Kayode Aroloye, declared that none of their members were involved in such activities. He urged the PDP to retract the allegations or face legal consequences.

“We have not been receiving salaries. Therefore, we demand that the Ondo State PDP Publicity Secretary, Kennedy Peretei, immediately withdraws the allegations and issues an apology within the next 24 hours. Otherwise, he will hear from our lawyers.

“We are individuals of integrity, some of whom built our reputation over the years before entering politics. We will not allow our names to be tarnished under the guise of political games. We will not accept this. If such activities have been happening, we will not let it go unchallenged,” emphasized Aroloye.(The PUNCH)