Alleged N34m Agents’ Funds: Labour Party Suspends Chairman

Leadership of the Labour Party, LP, in Osun State, yesterday, suspended its Chairman, Mr. Adebayo Bello, over an alleged misappropriation of N34 million funds.

The Ward 12 executive members of the party, led by its Chairman, Hammed Sheriff, while briefing journalists in Osogbo, said Mr. Adebayo also failed to attend ward meetings of the party without cogent reasons.

Mr. Sheriff said: “I, Hammed Sheriff, being the Chairman of Ward 12 in Osogbo Local Government Area and having seven of the executives with me, making a two third of the executives and having found Bello Adebayo guilty of Article 19 (1b) subsections 2,4, 5 and Article 19 (2b) subsections 3, hereby, suspend him as a member of the Labour Party in the ward.”

Also speaking, the acting state chairman of LP, Mrs Susan Ojo, said Bello, along with many others, was suspended by the party’s National Executive Council, NEC, meeting in Bauchi in March 2023.

Mrs Ojo said: “Bello allegedly misappropriated funds meant to prosecute some of the party activities during the presidential campaign and the election.

“For example, the funds meant for media consultancy, amounting to about N4 million given to Bello, were not released for the purpose it was meant for.

“Unfortunately, the Osun LPPCC allowed Bello to dupe them the second time. Having given himself a very bad reputation among the Obidients, Candidates and Party leaders, he had to rely on the goodwill of LPPCC to get people/polling unit agents to submit Form EC8A after the elections. And before the LPPCC decided to work with him, he promised that those who submitted these forms would be compensated.

“After submission, he was thereafter given N30 million to pay polling unit agents that submitted Forms EC8A. Now, the leaders of LPPCC are being chased around by those who submitted these forms, while Bello had collected and cornered their funds.”

My suspension cannot stand—Bello

Reacting to the allegations levelled against him, the embattled chairman, Mr Bello, said his suspension cannot stand.

While he explained that the Ward 12 of the Osogbo council area of the party does not have a substantive executive committee to suspend him, he said their tenure as acting executive members has expired.

Bello said: “With regards to funds, I am not aware of any N34 million.”