Unaudited accounts: Reps issue arrest warrant against Ogun-Osun river basin authority boss

The House of Representatives on Wednesday directed that a warrant of arrest be issued on the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer CEO of Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority Mr Olufemi Olayemi over his refusal to appear before its Committee on Public Accounts probing the audited accounts of ministries, departments and agencies MDAs of federal government despite several letters of invitation extended to the Agency.

The Chairman of the Committee Hon. Oluwole Oke gave the ruling in Abuja at the resumed investigative hearing of the Committee on the refusal of over 300 MDAs to submit their audited Accounts to the Auditor General of the Federation between 2014 to date

The Committee had earlier given the Ogun Osun River Basin Authority boss up till Wednesday to appear before it in person over the backlog of unaudited accounts of the Agency failure which it threatened a warrant of arrest against him.

However, when it was the turn of the Agency to present its submission before the Committee, its Managing Director was not in attendance.

Worried by the development, the Chairman of the Committee condemned the absence of the Agency’s boss which he described as deliberate, saying that he particularly directed the agency boss to re-appear in person for their own audited accounts to be scrutinized and wondered why the agency helmsman failed to turn up.

This came just as the Committee ordered the Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman Adamu to appear before it along with the Managing Directors and Chief Executive Officers of River Basin Authorities under the Ministry to shed light on the unedited accounts of the agency.

The Committee frowned at the continued absences of the Chief Executive Officers of some agencies before it, despite the several letters of invitation extended to them before and during the investigation hearing sitting.

Also, the Committee has placed the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control NAFDAC, the Nigerian Agriculture Quarantine Service, the National Insurance Commission NICON under status enquiry for failing to properly submit their audited accounts as and when due.

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The Committee Chairman had noted that most of these agencies that made some efforts to submit their yearly audited accounts did so after more than one year against the extant provision of the laws.

The Committee also frowned at the non-appearance of the CEOs of the Federal Inland Revenue Service FIRS, Upper Benue and Benin Owena Development Authorities and some other agencies and called on them to urgently report to the probe panel or be ready for arrest and as well to face other sanctions.

The Committee also quizzed the management of the Federal Medical Centre Jabi Abuja, Federal Medical Centre Ebutte Meta, Lagos and other hospitals for keeping a backlog of unaudited accounts.

The lawmaker and other committee members had grilled the Chief Medical Director CMD of FMC Ebute Meta Dr. Dani Dada who said that he had submitted the audited accounts update since he only assumed office in 2017.