Reps probe Yabatech over failure to submit audited reports

The House of Representatives has threatened to probe the accounts of the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos following the inability of the institution’s management to render a comprehensive audited account to parliament.

Meanwhile, the House has placed the college on status enquiry and directed the management to within 30 days reconcile its accounts and forward the audited report to the auditor general of the federation with proof of same to the House Committee on Public Accounts.

APC celebrates Fayemi @55, describes him as dogged reformer

The college incurred the wrath of House when it was uncovered that it had for six years defaulted in preparing and submitting its audited accounts report to the auditor general of the federation.

According to the House Committee on Public Accounts which made the declaration at the ongoing investigative hearing on unaudited accounts of MDAs, said it is unacceptable and a violation of government’s financial regulations not to make such audited reports available since 2014.

Rector of Yabatech, Obafemi Omokungbe, when he appeared before the House committee, explained that even though he assumed office in 2018, the school’s audited accounts were not ready as the external auditor is yet to conclude its work for onward submission to the auditor general of the federation and the National Assembly.

Irked by the submission, Chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts, Rep. Oluwole Oke, announced that the National Assembly would be compelled to withhold the institution’s 2020 budgetary allocation to serve as a lesson to other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

Rep. Oke observed that it is worrisome that the nation’s premier college of technology, which ought to be a shining example to others, is guilty of flouting government’s extant regulations on public finances.

“How do you want the auditor general of the federation to balance the nation’s financial year record when you have backlog of unaudited accounts or they will have to wait for you?

“Come to think of this, can you as an individual afford to leave the accounts of your private business outfit unaudited for years like we are witnessing in this case? There must be accountability; it is tax payers’ money, you must account for it. Henceforth, it is not going to be business as usual

“Let me sound a note of warning to those heads of MDAs, hiding under the pretext of being new in office or absence of governing boards to approve their audited accounts as cover ups for not remitting their audited accounts to the auditor general of the federation as at when due, we as a committee will fish out those involved and publish their names and MDAs in the national dailies.

“We are compiling their names; there will be no hiding place for them. This is not a threat; we are going to carry it out to the letter,” Rep. Oke declared.