Crisis Brewing in Magodo Estate Over Alleged Funds Misappropriation by Estate Management

Wale Igbintade 

Fresh crisis is brewing within Magodo Residents Association (MRA), over allegation of mismanagement of funds by the leadership of the Association.

Specifically, MRA’s internal auditor, Lawson Adesokan, had raised the alarm about the alleged misappropriation in an internal memo.

titled “Raising Red Flag On The : Financial Infractions and  MRA Access Gate Not Working”. 

The audit report accused the MRA leadership, led by Sheriff Daramola, of misappropriation.

In the memo dated December 12, 2023, Adesokan challenged Daramola for approving four additional police officers as security for the estate without the approval of the Board of Trustees (BoT) and central consultative council (CCC) of the Estate.

The auditor also queried the MRA chairman for approving N4,800,000 per annum for additional security, saying it was above his approval limit.

“My own business is that you do not have the mandate to approve a N4,800,000 per annum for additional security without approval since the amount is not in the budget and it is outside your approval limit.

“I understand payment of PR to the police commanders is not unusual, but if the amount is running over N10 million, it should not be handled by only one person, which in this case is the security secretary,” the auditor said.

“An additional N4,800,000 per annum and to be disbursed by only one person is prone to fraud, and it is a concern to me. Besides, the method of transferring the money out of the association is questionable.

“A fictitious payment voucher will be prepared and cash paid to a staff member by the name Moses Alawode who knows nothing about the intended purpose.

“The money will then be transferred by him to the security secretary. This to me is a red flag right there,” he added.

Following the allegations raised by the auditor, an investigative committee was set up by the estate’s BoT and Magodo residents general assembly.

The committee was tasked with probing the alleged mismanagement of the estate’s security funds by Kunle Kosile, the security secretary.

In its report submitted in June 2024, the committee stated that it discovered “discrepancies in the payment of allowances to police officers, lack of documentation and oversight in the disbursement of funds, and significant weaknesses in the current financial management practices”.

The committee said payments made to police officers by the security secretary were not “documented”.

“The investigation revealed significant weaknesses in the current financial management practices related to the payment of security allowances and public relations funds,” the report reads.

“The security secretary had disproportionate control over the process, with insufficient oversight and documentation, leading to potential mismanagement of funds.

“The mismanagement of funds has undermined the trust and transparency within the estate association, potentially jeopardizing the security arrangements and financial stability of the estate.

“The lack of proper documentation and oversight has created vulnerabilities that could be exploited, leading to financial losses and dissatisfaction among the security personnel

Also, in a letter addressed to residents, and dated September 30, 2024, Nosa Ebomoyi, president of MRA, south-west zone, said the allegations of funds mismanagement could result in “the revolt of payment of dues” in the estate.

Ebomoyi asked that the matter be handled with care while calling on residents to prepare for the next general meeting during which the allegations would be further addressed.

“With this MRA has to be very careful or the revolt of payment of dues will start because of the mismanagement of funds. 

The essence of this message to you, my good people of Southwest is to keep you up to speed on what is going on and to get us prepared for the next General meeting which the BOT said is in two weeks from now. I will not give up on fighting and working for the truth”, he stated.