By Isaac Akerele
The Ogun State House of Assembly has begun investigating two top aides to Governor Dapo Abiodun along with other officials over alleged mismanagement of N92.9 million in government funds.
Summoned before the Assembly’s Public Accounts and Anti-Corruption committee on Thursday are Governor Dapo Abiodun’s Senior Special Assistant on New Media, Mr. Ojo Emmanuel ; former state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Waheed Odusile ; former Permanent Secretary, information and strategy, Mr. Abiodun Awere, and Director of Finance and Accounts who served in the Ministry between 2021 and 2022.
Committee chairman, Mr. Damilare Bello said the officials have been asked to clarify infractions in 2021 and 2022 audit reports, including the transfer of N2.51 million in contingency funds to personal accounts instead of vendor accounts – a breach of financial regulations.
There are also questions around expenses from the governor’s special contingency allotment used to supplement the Information Ministry’s budget over the two years totaling N92.9 million.
The committee equally demands full details on reasons for the transfer of N2,515,590.00 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 procedure and it is against financial Regulations No. 614. It is advised that funds should be transfered directly to the vendors Bank Accounts and not individual personal accounts for the purpose of accountability and transparency” the committee said.
The officials are expected to appear before the committee on Thursday, February 29th to answer on account of the various infractions regarding N92.9m released
While responding to the committee’s directives, Permanent Secretary, Waheed Adesina promised more efforts to prevent further audit issues and comply with the lawmakers’ demands for documentation.
The investigation comes amid public scrutiny into Governor Abiodun’s office finances and spending controls.
