The Kwara State House of Assembly has gone down heavily on Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed over alleged mismanagement of Infrastructure Fund set aside to develop the State as the House of Assembly directed the governor to produce, Yomi Ogunsola, Director-General of the project to appear before the House next week Tuesday.
Recall that Governor Ahmed established Kwara State Infrastructure Fund code named IF-K and KP3 in 2016 for which the larger part of the state internally generated revenue was accrued to finance critical infrastructure and developmental projects across the state.
Last year, Governor Ahmed declared, through Muheeden Akorede, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications to the governor, that a total of N11 billion had been spent out of the State Infrastructure Fund to fund various projects across the state between 2016 and 2017.
Other officials had equally disclosed that series of finances had been made from Infrastructure Fund which did not gone down with members of the State Assembly and therefore demanded the appearance of Ogunsola to give correct accounts of tax payers’ money so far expended on IF-K and KP3 since its inception before the House of Assembly on Tuesday.
The directive followed refusal of the House to allow the representatives of the Director-General Oluwatosin Aremu and Falode Oluwaseyi who are Board Secretary/Analyst and Bureau Manager respectively, to appear before the legislature.
Reading the resolution of the House, Mathew Okedare, the deputy speaker who presided over the Wednesday’s sitting, explained the need for the Governor to produce the KP3 Director-General became imperative, to enable Kwarans know how their money were expanded by KP3 in funding projects since its inception.
Most members who spoke after the introduction by the representatives of the KP3 D-G, expressed displeasure over the non appearance of the invited Director-General and urged the House to further invoke its constitutional power to compel the affected officer to appear before the parliament.
While describing accountability and over sight functions as cardinal responsibilities of the Parliament, members said the two officers were not competent to answer questions to be posed to the D-G, pointing out that they were not the appropriate officers summoned to appear before the House.
The law makers who spoke on the refusal of the D-G KP3 to appear before the legislature are; Hassan Oyeleke, Kamal Fagbemi, Segilola Abdul Kadir, Ahmed Ibn Mohammed, Jimoh Akanni Abdul Rahman, Saheed Popoola, Adamu Usman, Mathew Babaoye, AbdulRasheed Taiwo Abdullahi, Aliyu Ishiaku Adams and Victoria Bunmi Afolayan; members representing Essa/Shawo/Igboidun, Oke-Ogun, Ilorin Central, Kaiama/Kemanji/Wajibe, Share/Oke-Ode, Ojomu/Balogun, Okuta/Yashikira, Irepodun, Owode/Onire, Edu and Oke-Ero Constituencies,
It will be recalled that the House had in its Tuesday’s sitting summoned the Director-General, KP3 and Head of Finance to appear before it, to answer audit query raised by the office of the Auditor-General of the state in a Matter of General Public Importance, raised by Kamal Fagbemi at the floor of the House.
Meanwhile, the House has passed International Aviation College Bill 2017 into law, following the consideration of the report on the bill at the committee of the whole.
The Deputy Speaker, directed the Clerk of the House to prepare a clean copy for the Governor’s assent.
SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin
