Reps place YABATECH on status enquiry over unaudited accounts

The House of Representatives has placed the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Lagos State on status enquiry over the failure of the Management of the Institution to submit its audited reports to the Auditor General of the Federation since 2014 till date as required by law.

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts took the decision, on Friday, when the management of the Institution led by its Rector, Engr. Obafemi Owoseni Omokungbe, appeared it in Abuja at the resumed Public hearing on the refusal of Non-Treasury Funded and Partially Funded Agencies to Render their Audited Accounts covering the period 2014-2018 to the Auditor-General of the Federation.

The Rector had told the Committee that he assumed office in 2018 and that the Accounts were not ready as the external Auditor would complete the work after which it would be transmitted to the Auditor General of the Federation.

Worried by the submission, the Committee resolved to place the Institution on status enquiry for the period under review to probe into its financial records, describing the submission as unacceptable and against financial regulations guiding civil service.

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The Chairman of the Committee, Hon Oluwole Oke, in his ruling gave the Institution 30 days ultimatum to prepare its accounts and remit same to the Auditor General of the Federation and the proof of compliance to the Committee.

Hon Oke further ruled that failure to comply with the directive, the National Assembly would have no option than to withhold the 2020 budgetary allocation to the Institution to serve as a deterrent to other defaulting Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA)s of the Federal Government.

According to him: ” YABATECH is the Nation’s Premier College of Technology which supposed to be a shining example to others but what have now? Mr Rector and the Bursar who is an Accountant, we are not impressed by your submission.

“How do you want the Auditor General of the Federation to balance the Nation’s financial year record when you have backlogs of unaudited accounts or they will have to wait for you.

“Come to think of this, can you as an individual afford to leave the accounts of your private business outfit unaudited for years like we are witnessing in this case? There must be accountability, it is taxpayers money, you must account for it, henceforth, it is not going to be business as usual.

“Let me sound a note of warning to those heads of MDAs, hiding under the pretext of being new in office or absence of governing boards to approve their audited accounts as cover-ups for not remitting their audited accounts to the Auditor General of the Federation as at when due, we as a Committee will fish out those involved and published their names and MDAs in the National Dailies, we are compiling their names, there will be no hiding place for them, this is not a threat, we are going to carry it out to the letter.”

The matter was later stepped down to allow for the status enquiry as ordered.