The Osun State Government has formally petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate Gboyega Oyetola, the immediate past governor and current Minister of Blue Economy, over the alleged misappropriation of a $20m World Bank health grant.
The government also accused Oyetola of money laundering, financial misconduct, and violations of the Public Procurement Act in disbursing the grant meant for health sector improvements in the state.
According to an acknowledged copy of the petition dated March 7, 2025, and obtained by our correspondent on Friday, Oyetola chaired a special Health Intervention Committee tasked with allocating and applying the grant funds during his tenure as governor.
The committee, whose members included former government officials such as Remi Omowaye, Dr. Rafiu Isamatu, and Bola Oyebamiji, decided to use the entire $20m for renovating 320 primary health care centres across the state.
According to the petition written by the government’s lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi, “This so-called renovation of primary health care centres involved building, renovation and adjustments/restructuring of some of these centres to attain the position of modern health centres. 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, head of one agency of government or the other, or his proxies and cronies who claimed to have incorporated business names/inactive companies.”
The government noted that the contract’s beneficiaries 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 alleges that the companies, lacking the expertise for construction, executed substandard renovation works while receiving full contract payments, thereby misappropriating the $20n grant.
Regarding money laundering, the state government alleged that over ₦1.5 billion was funneled through the Osun chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria between January and October 2022.
The petition named former ALGON Chairman Abiodun Idowu, Secretary Olubisi Oladosu, 28 former local government caretaker chairmen, and the former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Yekeen Adebayo Adeleke, as key actors in the alleged scheme.
