Ogun State House of Assembly Committee on Public Accounts and Anti-Corruption has summoned the immediate past Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Waheed Odusile, a former Permanent Secretary, Mr. Abiodun Awere, and the Director of Finance and Accounts, Mr. Andrew Odukoya, who served in the ministry between 2021 and 2022 over alleged financial infractions detected during the audit exercise.
The alleged infractions, according to a statement on Monday, are connected with N92.9m released to the ministry from the governor’s contingency fund to supplement funds released for the expenditures of the ministry.
Odusile was therefore mandated to appear with other officials before the committee on Thursday, February 29, 2024, at 1 pm to provide further information on the finance of the ministry.
The committee’s chairman, Damilare Bello, gave this directive while considering the ministry’s auditor reports for the years 2021 and 2022 and the financial records as presented by the Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Waheed Adesina at the Assembly Complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
“The committee also directed the ministry’s Director of Finance and Accounts, Odukoya, to furnish the committee with further details on the transfer of N2.51m to individual accounts as contained in the 2021 Auditor General Report.
“According to the committee, it was observed from the available records and bank statements of the agency that N2,515,590.00 was transferred to the personal accounts of Mr. Ojo Emmanuel, Special Adviser on Media for the purchase of working tools for OGSG New Media Team.
“This was a breach of due process and is against financial Regulations No. 614. It is advised that funds should be transferred directly to the vendor’s Bank Accounts and not individual personal accounts for the purpose of accountability and transparency,” he said.
The committee also directed the Director, Finance, and Accounts to avail it with the ministry’s up-to-date fixed asset register, while requesting for the submission of the cash inflows and outflows.
Responding, the Permanent Secretary, Adesina, assured the committee that efforts had been made to guide against issues raised in the audit report, promising that the ministry would comply with all directives with a view to continually promote accountability and transparency.
