Bailout Fund: Ondo Rejects ICPC Report, Demands Retraction

The Ondo State Government has asked the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to correct itself over the misinformation published on the bailout received by the state government to offset part of its workers salaries.

The government, in a statement issued by its Commissioner for Information, Mr. Kayode Akinmade, described the report as misleading, stating that the state government added N50million to the bailout fund before it could meet the payment of outstanding salary arrears till June 2015.

The government said the bailout fund it collected was N9.443.06, which was augmented with N50million which brought the total disbursement to N9.493.91.

According to him, all relevant document and bank transfers on the disbursement of the fund were presented to ICPC officials that came to monitor the disbursement of the fund.
“Each claim of payment was investigated and confirmed to be true by the ICPC investigating team and at the end of its visit the government was commended for its effective operation, clinical and accurate disbursement of the said fund,” the statement said.

Akinmade further stated that the labour union leaders in the state were dully briefed and approved of the disbursement process. He thus urged the anti graft agency to correct itself of the misrepresentation.

Condemning the report, government said: “It is unimaginable that a government that is paying the highest minimum wage to its workers in the country against all odds, would divert loan given it to enable it fulfil its monthly obligation to the same workers following the near collapse of the nation’s economy which has made the obligation challenging.”
The state government thus called on the ICPC to investigate the report and as a matter of urgency put the record straight by reporting its exact findings when it came to the state to make verification on the bailout fund application.