By Oyo Lens
The Chairman of Ibadan North-East Local Government, Hon. Ibrahim Akintayo, has broken his silence on allegations of gross misconduct against his administration, dismissing them as politically driven grievances arising from the approaching local government elections.
Akintayo said the controversy involving some councillors was largely connected to expectations that he should facilitate their return to office on the platform of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM).
The council boss, however, insisted that he has no unilateral authority to determine who secures the party’s ticket, stressing that candidate selection remains the responsibility of the appropriate party organs and relevant stakeholders.
“I cannot single-handedly decide who gets the party ticket,” Akintayo maintained, distancing his office from what he described as political expectations being placed on the council administration.
The chairman also alleged that some councillors had made demands he considered excessive, including requests for three lock-up shops despite each councillor already being allocated one, travel arrangements and a ₦500,000 allowance.
Akintayo argued that refusing such demands should not be interpreted as gross misconduct, insisting that the statutory responsibilities of a local government chairman do not include providing personal benefits or political privileges to individual councillors.
He contended that the allegations were therefore being fuelled more by personal grievances and political differences than by any wrongdoing in the administration.
The chairman appealed to the councillors to sheathe their swords and redirect their energy towards issues capable of strengthening governance and accelerating development across Ibadan North-East.
He also urged residents and other stakeholders to exercise caution in assessing the allegations, warning that political disagreements should not be allowed to derail the administration’s responsibilities to the people.
Akintayo reaffirmed his commitment to the development of Ibadan North-East, calling for peace, unity and responsible engagement among political and community stakeholders as the local government elections approach.
