Two civil society organisations, the Civil Society Groups for Good Governance (CSGGG) and Integrity Advocacy for Development Initiative (IADI), have called for verifiable evidence to support allegations of wrongdoing involving projects facilitated by Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, representing Ogun West Senatorial District.
The groups, which spoke at a joint press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, said their position followed field monitoring of projects and empowerment programmes linked to the senator. Adeola is also chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations.
President of CSGGG, Chief Dominic Ogakwu, said the organisations had visited project locations, inspected infrastructure and interacted with beneficiaries during their monitoring exercises.
According to him, the projects monitored included roads and other infrastructure, as well as interventions in education, electricity, healthcare and community development.
Ogakwu said the monitoring teams also observed empowerment programmes involving traders, artisans, farmers, youths and students, adding that the organisations documented what they found through field observations and interactions with beneficiaries.
He said, “The projects we monitored were not imaginary projects existing only on the pages of the Federal Budget. They were physical, identifiable and verifiable interventions in communities.”
The groups said their representatives also encountered officials of anti-corruption agencies, including the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), during some of the empowerment programmes.
However, Ogakwu stressed that the organisations were not speaking for the ICPC or pre-empting the outcome of any investigation by the commission.
The groups urged those alleging diversion of public funds, procurement violations, inflated contracts or improper connections between Adeola and contractors to provide specific evidence capable of independent verification.
They said allegations of financial diversion should be supported by identifiable financial trails, while claims concerning companies allegedly linked to the senator should be backed by corporate records, beneficial ownership information and other relevant documentation.
Similarly, they called for details of specific contracts and procurement transactions where allegations of violations or inflation had been made, including the relevant procurement documents and evidence used to arrive at claims of overpricing.
“If there is evidence that Senator Adeola personally benefited financially from any project, let that evidence be produced. If there is evidence connecting him to companies alleged to have improperly received contracts, let the corporate records, beneficial ownership information and financial connections be disclosed,” the groups said.
The organisations, however, acknowledged that the existence of physical projects did not exempt Adeola or any public official from scrutiny, stressing that accountability remained fundamental to democratic governance.
Executive Director of IADI, Comrade Ofomhi Christopher, said allegations should not automatically be regarded as established facts simply because they had been repeatedly circulated in the media or on social media.
Christopher also cautioned civil society organisations against allowing their platforms to be used in political contests, saying advocacy should be based on facts and verifiable evidence.
The groups said they had received information suggesting that political interests might be connected to aspects of the controversy but stressed that they had not independently verified the claim and would therefore not present it as fact.
They, however, questioned the timing of the allegations, noting that some of the projects had allegedly existed and benefited communities before Adeola’s governorship ambition became a major political issue.
“The public is therefore entitled to ask: where were these critics before Senator Adeola decided to run for Governor of Ogun State?” they said, adding that the question should not be interpreted as proof of anyone’s motive.
The organisations urged residents of Ogun State and members of the public to independently verify both the projects and allegations surrounding them rather than relying solely on claims from either side.
“Do not take Senator Adeola’s word for it. Do not take the word of his critics. Do not even take our word merely because we stand before you today. Go and verify,” they said.
The groups further called on those behind the allegations to submit any evidence in their possession to the appropriate anti-corruption and law-enforcement agencies for investigation.
They maintained that communities where the projects were located remained accessible for inspection and that beneficiaries could be interviewed, while their own monitoring records should also be subjected to scrutiny.
The organisations said anyone found to have misappropriated public resources should face the law irrespective of political affiliation or status.
“Our organisations stand by what our teams independently observed and documented. Where there is credible evidence of wrongdoing, let it be presented, investigated and prosecuted in accordance with the law. Where there is none, public discourse should not substitute allegation for proof,” they said.
