Osun lawmakers exonerate Aregbesola from diversion of salary fund

The Osun State House of Assembly report on the sum of N34.99 billion bailout fund received by the state in August 2015  from the Federal Government was expended.

The report exonerated the state government from diversion of the money, saying, governor Aregbesola committed the money to payment of workers’ salaries.

The Assembly had stated its resolve to investigate how the state government spent the money following the decision by the Committee on Finance and Appropriation of the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly to visit the state and probe how the fund was expended.

The six-page report, jointly signed by the Chairman, Finance and Appropriation Committee, Kamil Oyedele and Chairman, Public Accounts Committee, Olalekan Afolabi was presented and read at the plenary session of the assembly recently.

According to the report: “The request for the sum of N88.2 billion, which comprised of N64.3 billion and N23.9 billion for state and local governments respectively was forwarded to the Central Bank of Nigeria in July, 2015.

“However, the sum of N34.9 billion covering N25.9 billion and N9.1 billion for state and local governments respectively was actually approved and released by the Central Bank of Nigeria to the state government in August, 2015.”

On how the state government utilized the controversial bailout fund, the lawmakers said: “The utilization of the approved fund in respect of the state government are as stated below: Actual amount received was N25.9 billion; payment made in respect of salaries and allowances of state government workers (civil servants and teachers) was N20.7 billion.

“Payment made in respect of pensions for the retired civil servants and teachers, N5.2 billion; accrued Bank Charges, N5.4 billion; Total amount spent N25.9 billion; balance, N3.3 billion.”