The Ondo House of Assembly has commenced an investigation of the financial activities of the state’s 18 local government areas.
The Speaker of the assembly, Olamide Oladiji, said that auditing the accounts of local government areas is the assembly’s constitutional function.
“It is a sad development when many heads of administration are reluctant to turn up for their records. It’s not their money, but public money. That is why we asked you to come for this exercise,” he said.
“Don’t see it as something else because some may want to blackmail us. We are not here to do what is not our right, but to do the right thing and for posterity to judge us.
“For eight months, are you saying we should not check your records? Cooperate with us or else, we will use the sledgehammer as a legislative arm of the government.”
Oladiji urged the local officials to collaborate with the assembly and provide all requested documents to the committee.
“There is no record that you must keep away from us except you have a secret. If you don’t have any document we ask for now, go back and bring it,” he said.
Oladiji said refusing to provide records is an “embarrassment to the assembly”, adding that their objective is to ensure citizens reap the rewards of democratic governance.
Japhet Oluwatoyin, chairman of the house committee on local government and chieftaincy affairs, said that the assembly has a constitutional mandate to oversee local government funds, including appropriation and supervision.
NAN reports that the six local governments that appeared before the committee were: Akoko north-west, Akoko north-east, Akoko south-west, Akoko south-east, Ose and Owo.
