The Osun State Government has asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to investigate Gboyega Oyetola, the current Minister of Blue Economy, for allegedly misappropriating a $20 million World Bank health grant.
The Osun State Government also accused Oyetola of money laundering, financial misconduct, and violating the Public Procurement Act during the grant’s disbursement for state health sector improvements.
According to a copy of the petition dated March 7, 2025, and obtained by our correspondent, Oyetola, during his tenure as governor, chaired a special Health Intervention Committee tasked with allocating and applying the grant funds.
The committee, which included former government officials of Osun state such as Remi Omowaye, Dr. Rafiu Isamatu, and Bola Oyebamiji, voted to spend the entire $20 million on upgrading 320 basic health care centers around the state.
According to the petition written by the government’s lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi, “This so-called renovation of primary health care centers involved building, renovation, and adjustments/restructuring of some of these centers in order to attain the position of modern health centers. Having made these decisions, the Oyetola-led committee decided to award the contracts for the renovation.
“In flagrant violations of the above clear provisions of the Public Procurement Act, 2007, Oyetola did not call for bidding as mandatorily required under the PPA, let alone allow competition, which would have afforded the state the best qualified contractors to handle the projects.
“Rather, the former governor, in observing the provisions of the Act in breach, awarded the contracts to individuals who were either his cabinet members, heads of one agency of government or the other, or his proxies and cronies who claimed to have incorporated business names/inactive companies.”
The Osun state government mentioned that the beneficiaries of the contract allegedly included businesses with no construction experience, such as food vendors, salon operators, supermarket owners, and web designers.
Among the companies named in the petition are Poshpreneurs Nig., owned by the children of the former Head of Service, Olowogboyega Oyebade; Dotfam Multiventures Ltd., linked to the siblings of the former APC State Chairman; The Ice Firms Nig. Ltd., allegedly owned by Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Adebayo Adeleke; and Afamoks Web International, linked to former Amotekun Field Commander, Amitolu Shittu.
The state government claims that the companies, lacking construction skills, performed subpar renovation work while collecting full contract payments, resulting in the embezzlement of the $20 million award.
The state government accused the Osun chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria of laundering about ₦1.5 billion from January to October 2022.
The suit identified former ALGON Chairman Abiodun Idowu, Secretary Olubisi Oladosu, 28 previous local government caretaker chairmen, and former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs Hon. Yekeen Adebayo Adeleke as significant players in the alleged scam.
“In a similar vein, the government equally laid its hands on some financial records, which clearly show a clear case of money laundering of huge magnitude by the past administration of Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola.
Financial records cited in the petition indicate that funds “were repeatedly transferred from the ALGON account at Zenith Bank (Account Number: 1016607858) into the private account of one Akeem Ibitoye, a local government employee and Director of Finance at Ejigbo Local Government.”
The state administration said that withdrawals ranging from N30 million to more than N10 million per day were made in cash, with no evidence that the monies were used for any official initiatives.
However, Adebayo disputed the charges, calling them ridiculous.
The former commissioner, who demanded additional information on the petition, stated, “EFCC has not invited me, and I have not seen a copy of the petition for me to know what it is all about.
“If there is no proof, then the allegations are frivolous and of no stance.
“I have become a thorn in the flesh of Gov. Adeleke and PDP, and I won’t be surprised if some baseless allegations are levied against me.
“Anyway, they think trying to dirty my white garment will make me keep mute about their fraudulent ways of governance.”
