Oyo Assembly Begins Probe of MDAs, LGs Over Auditor-General’s Reports

The Oyo State House of Assembly has commenced a comprehensive probe into the financial records of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as well as Local Government Areas in the state, in a move aimed at addressing long-standing audit queries and strengthening accountability in public spending.

The exercise, being conducted by the Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), is reviewing Auditor-General’s reports covering the years 2020, 2021 and 2022 for MDAs, and 2023 and 2024 for the 33 local government councils in the state.

The public hearing, which is expected to last two weeks, is taking place at the Caucus Room of the Assembly complex at the State Secretariat in Ibadan.

Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Olusola Owolabi, said the exercise was initiated to ensure transparency and accountability in the management of public funds and to resolve several audit queries that had remained unanswered over the years.

Owolabi, who represents Ibadan North-East State Constituency II, explained that the Assembly was acting within its constitutional powers to scrutinize the financial activities of government agencies.

“The Constitution has saddled the House of Assembly with the responsibility of rechecking what the Auditor-General has raised. What were the responses of our agencies, ministries, and corporations to the audit queries? That is why we have to invite all MDAs and institutions to come and tell us what their answers to the Auditor-General’s queries were,” he said.

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He stressed that the Committee would thoroughly examine issues relating to public income, expenditure and internally generated revenue of the agencies and councils.

“The objective is accountability. Money is being budgeted, and money is being given as releases, but they are not telling us how it is being spent. It is a public fund; it is taxpayers’ money. It belongs to all of us. So, we have to confirm what is being spent on. We have the right as a House of Assembly to scrutinize income and expenditure for accountability and transparency purposes,” Owolabi added.

The lawmaker further warned that any officer or agency found culpable during the probe would be referred to the state’s anti-graft agencies for further investigation.

“Oyo State has an agency that has to do with the rule of law, that’s number one. Another agency we call Oyaka has to do with investigation, investigating corrupt officers and corrupt corporations. These agencies were established so that the accountability of Oyo State money will be paramount. When we find out that any person or any corporation or any agency is culpable, we hand them over to the anti-graft agency so that they can answer in detail so that the law will take its place,” he said.

Also speaking, a member of the Committee, Hon. Olasunkanmi Babalola, outlined the procedures guiding the hearing and warned that officials implicated in financial misconduct would face sanctions.

He noted that cases involving misappropriation of funds, unauthorized expenditure, diversion of public resources and contract irregularities would be referred to relevant anti-corruption agencies in the state.

Babalola maintained that the exercise was a statutory responsibility of the Assembly and not a politically motivated move, emphasizing that budget approvals must be followed by transparent implementation.

Other members of the Committee include Hon. Gbenga Oyekola, Hon. Abiodun Babalola and Hon. Johnson Ogundele.

Meanwhile, the Clerk of the House, Adenike Muraina-Akinola, represented by the Deputy Clerk (Legal), Mrs Aderonke Ogundeji, urged all invited MDAs and local government officials to cooperate with the Committee.

She assured them that the probe was not intended as a witch-hunt but a constitutional process designed to ensure proper accountability in the management of public funds.