Kogi State Governor, Usman Ododo
Kogi State Government has pushed back hard against fresh allegations that it is meddling with or diverting funds meant for the state’s 21 local government councils.
Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, dismissed the accusations as a coordinated attempt to smear the administration.
Fanwo described the claims as “untrue, politically-motivated and deliberately orchestrated to mislead the public,” adding that the state would not allow falsehoods to take root.
“Ordinarily, such baseless propaganda would not deserve a response. But as we all know, when lies go unchallenged, they begin to look like truth,” he said.
“Silence can unintentionally empower misinformation. We are a government committed to transparency, accountability and the right of our citizens to accurate information.”
According to him, the petitioners were not driven by a genuine quest for accountability but by a desire to drag Governor Usman Ododo and the entire state government into “fabricated claims.”
Fanwo insisted that the idea that the state interferes with council finances “is entirely untrue and contradicts every documented financial and administrative process in Kogi.”
*‘Local Government Autonomy Is Fully Alive in Kogi’*
Reaffirming the state’s stance, Fanwo explained that local governments in Kogi operate with full autonomy in line with constitutional provisions.
“Local government autonomy is real, functional and fully upheld in the state,” he maintained.
“They determine their expenditure, award contracts, process payroll and implement development programmes independently.
“The governor of Kogi does not tamper with local government funds.”
He further emphasized that each council publicly posts its financial records:
“For the avoidance of doubt, all the 21 local government councils publish their financial statements on the official government website. Transparency is not a slogan here; it is a routine practice.”
Development Projects Tell the Real Story — Fanwo
Fanwo said the flurry of development projects across all LGAs stands as proof that the allegations lack substance.
He highlighted remodeled and newly constructed primary healthcare centres, rehabilitated water facilities, new boreholes, and solar-powered PHCs as examples of grassroots progress.
He also noted that each council recently trained 110 young people in CNG conversion and installation.
“Procurement processes are ongoing to provide their working kits and make them job creators rather than job seekers,” he added.
According to Fanwo, the Ododo administration remains focused on infrastructure, security, prompt salary and pension payments, rural development and education.
“Our President, Bola Tinubu, has given us more resources to serve our people. We will not disappoint him; we will not disappoint the good people of Kogi,” he said.
ALGON Chair Backs State Govt
Adding his voice, Tosin Olokun, Executive Chairman of Yagba West Local Government and Chairman of ALGON in Kogi, confirmed that councils receive their allocations without interference.
“The state government does not tamper with our allocations and the revenue we generate internally,” he said.
Olokun noted that councils have consistently paid salaries and pensions in full and have even resumed payment of long-abandoned gratuities.
“We have been making rural roads accessible as well as renovating, remodelling and building new primary healthcare centres and clinics to attend to the healthcare of our people at the grassroots,” he added.
He praised Governor Ododo for what he described as transparent leadership and firm support for grassroots development.
