The Lagos State House of Assembly on Tuesday began a probe on the 2019 Auditor-General’s Statutory Report on the accounts of the state’s Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
Chairman of the Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee on State, Mr Nurudeen Saka-Solaja made this known while addressing newsmen before the commencement of the exercise in Lagos.
The public accounts committee is a statutory establishment of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The committee is an important instrument of checks, probity, and accountability by the legislature both at the federal and state levels.
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Saka-Solaja explained that the purpose of the probe was not to witch-hunt but to invite all heads of the indicted MDAs.
He added that the exercise was to seek clarifications as regards the outstanding queries raised in the Auditor-General’s report to enhance better service delivery in the state.
Saka-Solaja noted that Sections 125(2) and 129(1) (c) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, empowered the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Assembly to ‘summon any person in Nigeria to give evidence at any place’.
“The committee is also empowered to direct the person to produce any document or other things in his possession or under his control and examine him as a witness and require him to produce any document.
“The committee can also direct him to produce other things in his possession or under his control, subject to all just exceptions’ during the deliberation and consideration exercise of the audited report of the accounts of MDAs submitted by the Auditor-General of the state.
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“Accordingly, in consonance with the need for effective and best practices in the pursuit of its statutory objectives, the public accounts committee (State) of the Lagos state house of assembly today commenced the deliberations and considerations of the audited report of the state auditor-general on the accounts of the state.
“This is for the year ended, December 31, 2019,” he said.
Saka-Solaja however assured Lagosians that all monies budgeted for the MDAs would be properly scrutinized to ensure it was judiciously spent as captured in the budget of the state.
