The Nation Newspaper

Tag: sanction

  • N18.38b loan: Panel recommends sanction for Oyinlola

    The Commission of Enquiry set up by the Osun State Government to probe the N18.38 billion loan taken by the administration of Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola from the United Bank of Africa (UBA) yesterday submitted its report.

    It indicted Oyinlola for leadership failure.

    The Prof. Femi Odekunle-led panel said the former governor should be sanctioned for heeding the advice of the former House of Assembly Speaker, Mr. Adejare Bello, to take the loan, even though there was no emergency situation that required it.

    Oyinlola was also recommended for sanction for approving the terms of the loan, which the panel said was inimical to the interest of the state when compared to the interest of the bank.

    The panel also recommended that the ex-governor be sanctioned for “the irrational application of parts of the loan and for directing certain obvious reckless disbursement of the loan”.

    Oyinlola was blamed for approving an “unthinking Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the IDG that has turned out to be a fraud against the state” and for “authorising dubious and irregular payments to Meadows Park Investment Limited”.

    Former Head of Service Segun Akinwusi and the former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr. Abiodun Akintaro, were also indicted for “failing to offer the required advice to Oyinlola during meetings on the loan”.

    Akinwusi was singled out for what the panel described as an act of “dishonesty” in denying his participation in the deliberations in the memorandum to Governor Rauf Aregbesola, as well as in his oral submission under oath before the commission.

    The commission said the former Speaker should have instituted a public hearing on the loan, when opposition members of the Assembly kicked against the loan.

    It said issues surrounding the loan should have been deliberated on at the public hearing before the loan was approved by the Assembly.

    The panel recommended the former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Works, Mr. Ojo and the Director-General in the Due Process Office, Mr. Gbenga Abiola, for commendation over their insistence on doing the right thing at the risk of their careers.

    Aregbesola thanked the commission for the work done. He said the report would be subjected to a review by technocrats and the government’s decision would be contained in a White Paper.

    Oyinlola’s media aide, Mr. Ayo Olaiya, said: “We knew what a panel set up by the state government would do.

    “The panel allowed the person that set it up to appear before it and make submissions. The same person has now received the report to judge the case.

    “It is interesting, but we will react appropriately after reading the full report.”

  • Financial irregularities: Lagos Assembly to sanction errant MDAs

    Financial irregularities: Lagos Assembly to sanction errant MDAs

    The Lagos State House of Assembly will henceforth sanction any Ministry, Department and Agency (MDAs) that fails to update Fixed Assets Register and Unretired Payment Vouchers as such offence would be regarded as negligence of governmental duty.

    This was contained in the recommendations of the House Committee on Public Accounts (State), which was presented by the committee chairman, Yusuf Ayinla, at the Committee of the Whole House. Ayinla in the report, which was on the accounts of the state government for the year ended 31st December, 2010, disclosed that some MDAs were guilty of certain anomalies that needed urgent intervention.

    Some of the anomalies, according to him, include late submission of financial statements, non-reconciliation of bank statements, non-submission of relevant documents with payment vouchers, negligence of accountants and internal auditors to effectively monitor financial matters in their MDAs, among others.

    The House, in its resolutions, resolved that MDAs that have revenue potentials should henceforth prepare realistic revenue estimates and block loopholes that characterised collection of the state revenues so as to forestall incessant shortfalls.

    It was also resolved that all ongoing projects embarked upon by the MDAs in the year under consideration should be expeditiously executed while evidence of completion should be forwarded to the Assembly.

    The lawmakers also asked MDAs’ accountants and internal Auditors to ensure that all irregularities found in their accounts during the exercise should be rectified within two months or face appropriate sanctions.

    The lawmakers also admonished internal auditors to ensure regular reconciliation of nominal roll registers with payroll in order to avoid incidence of ghost workers, emphasising that prompt transfers of salaries of officers deployed must be carried out immediately, while unclaimed ones should be remitted to the chests

    35 MDAs were indicted in the report due to observations raised by the PAC regarding outstanding issues in their account.