Alleged Corruption And Bribery In LASODA: Lagos JONAPWD Calls For Review Of Disbursement Channels Of Disability Funds In The State

The Lagos chapter of the Joint National Association of Persons With Disabilities (JONAPWD) has waded into the alleged corruption and bribery accusation levelled against the Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs (LASODA), calling for a review of disability funds disbursement channels in the state in order to ensure transparency and accountability. This was contained in a press statement issued by the body on Thursday and signed by its chairman, Barrister Lukeman Abolarinwa Salami, a copy of which was made available to Lagos Today Extra!

The statement read in part, “The Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD), Lagos State Chapter, as the recognised umbrella body of disability clusters across Lagos State, has followed with grave concern recent media reports on allegations of corruption and abuse of office within the Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs (LASODA), and now calls on the Lagos State Government to bring transparency, accountability, and a fundamental change of approach to how public funds meant for persons with disabilities are disbursed in this state.”

 

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JONAPWD said its concerns was not borne out of speculation but based on investigative reporting by The PUNCH, which documented allegations that officials involved in administering LASODA's Disability Intervention Fund demanded kickbacks from beneficiary organisations before releasing grants, and that some organisations which refused to pay, have allegedly been blacklisted from further grants. It added That the same reporting captured the frustration of NGO operators working directly with children with disabilities, who described corruption as a central obstacle preventing support from reaching those who need it most.

“We note that LASODA has since responded publicly, denying the corruption allegations and stating that it has launched an internal fact-finding exercise following an anonymous tip, that a suspected officer has been identified, and that the matter has been referred to the appropriate authority for disciplinary consideration in line with Lagos State Public Service procedures.

“The agency, under its General Manager, Adenike Oyetunde-Lawal, has maintained that no disciplinary action has yet been concluded and that any outcome will be determined by the Civil Service Commission. JONAPWD acknowledges this response and states clearly that we await the outcome of this investigation, and we expect it to be conducted thoroughly, impartially, and with its findings made public, given that public funds and the welfare of a community of an estimated 3 million persons with disabilities in Lagos State are at stake,” the statement read.

It, however said JONAPWD's concerns go beyond the specific kickback allegations under investigation, stressing  that they extend to the entire architecture of how LASODA funds disability NGOs in the state, saying it is an architecture that has for long lacked the basic transparency that public funding demands.

JONAPWD noted that every year, several millions of naira are recorded as expended by LASODA in support of disability-focused NGOs, homes, and clusters; yet neither JONAPWD, nor the disability clusters it represents, nor the media, nor the Lagos State public has ever been given a clear, published account of exactly how much is disbursed, to which organisations, and on what basis.

“We are aware that some organisations, including some without proper official registration, have received support in excess of two million naira in a single cycle, while established disability clusters have received less than two million naira each, and JONAPWD itself, as the umbrella body coordinating these very clusters, received only one million five hundred thousand naira last year.

“LASODA has stated that annual institutional support is consistently extended to recognised umbrella associations while other organisations are considered based on programme priorities and assessment processes, but no such criteria, assessments, or figures have ever been made available to the community for independent scrutiny,” the statement read.

In stating its position on the matter, JONAPWD said LASODA has no business funding NGOs, stressing that Non-governmental organisations exist, by definition, to raise their own funding through legitimate proposals to donors, development partners, and philanthropic institutions. The body added that it is not the statutory responsibility of a government disability agency to serve as a grant-making body for NGOs, particularly where no transparent framework exists to govern who receives what, and why, which it said has now led to the corruption allegations facing the agency.

In addition, the body advised that the money currently being expended on NGO funding arrangement should instead be redirected to direct, sustained social protection interventions for persons with disabilities themselves.

“The millions currently being expended on this funding arrangement should instead be redirected to direct, sustained social protection interventions for persons with disabilities themselves, most notably a structured cash transfer programme targeted at verified persons with disabilities across all clusters in Lagos State,” it stated,  adding that Money spent reaching disabled Lagosians directly, through a transparent and auditable mechanism, would always do more for the community than money disbursed to organisations whose registration, activities, and impact cannot be confirmed.

JONAPWD also called on the Lagos State House of Assembly to demand a full, public disclosure of LASODA's NGO funding disbursements over the past five years, including the names of all recipient organisations, the amounts received, and the criteria applied, independent of and in addition to the ongoing internal investigation.

The body also called on the Lagos State Government to ensure that the current investigation into kickback allegations is not left solely to LASODA's internal processes, but is subjected to independent oversight, given that the agency under investigation cannot credibly be the sole judge of its own conduct.

“Lagos State is home to an estimated three million persons with disabilities. That is a population too large to be treated as an afterthought while public funds are disbursed behind closed doors and only scrutinised after journalists, not the agency itself, bring the matter to light,” it stated,  stressing that the Lagos State Chapter  of JONAPWD will continue to mobilise its members, its media partners, and its civic allies to press for a system in which disability funding in the state is transparent, needs-based, and free of the abuse that recent reporting has laid bare. It added that the body will be watching closely for the outcome of the investigation LASODA has announced.

“We remain committed to constructive engagement with the Lagos State Government and with LASODA on this matter, and we stand ready to work with any credible process aimed at correcting it,” the statement concluded.

  

Categories: PWDs Corner