Skip to main content

N4.3b ‘secret cash’ appropriated for in 2019 budget, says commissioner

Image
Posted By

Ondo State Finance Commissioner Wale Akinterinwa said on Sunday that the N4.3billion hidden in a bank account for over 10 years was appropriated for in the 2019 budget.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state has intervened in the matter, to prevent a face-off between the executive and the legislature over the issue.

Akinterinwa said in a statement that there was nothing to hide about the fund discovered in 2018 and lies peddled by mischief makers that there was no appropriation for the money.

He said that the N4.3billion was in the 2019 Appropriation Bill passed by the Assembly and signed into law by Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.

It was gathered that the leadership of the APC in Ondo State had intervened in the matter and found out that some lawmakers, backed by external forces, raised what they termed as a false alarm over the fund.

A source said records available to the APC leadership showed that the 2019 appropriation confirmed the cash in the account.

The source said the Ondo APC leadership discovered that some lawmakers were sponsored by some government officials to raise issues about the money spent in the 2019 budget.

A lawmaker, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the N4.3billion was not a new issue and had been moved to the state coffers in the budget in 2019.

The lawmaker said the money was contained in the Auditor-General report of 2018, adding that some individuals in the government gave the House Committee information about the discovered money, but were not aware that the money had been appropriated in the 2019 budget.

According to the lawmaker, “we are still digging and we want to know some things about the money. Mimiko ought to have made a statement since information available showed it was deposited during Agagu’s administration.

It was not the House that discovered the fund, but was contained in the Auditor-General report of 2018. Committees were put in place not more than six months ago.

“Emerging facts showed it was captured in the 2019 Budget or 2018 Supplementary Budget.

“The money was properly appropriated for in 2019. It was passed by the past Assembly. External forces are trying to hype the issues for political gains.”

Source: thenation

Comments

Post a Comment

Feel free to add your comment.

What's Trending..

President Buhari applauds Nigerians for prayers

Posted By
President Muhammadu Buhari thanked all Nigerians after his meeting with Senate President, Bukola Saraki and Speaker of the House of Representative, Yakubu Dogara. The duo had travelled to London to meet the president who is at Abuja House in the UK on Wednesday, February 15. The president extended his vacation citing medical reasons and the third and fourth most powerful men in the country paid him a visit.
Post a Comment
Read more

Jamb warning to 2019 candidates

Posted By
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has called on prospective candidates to disregard advertisements in the social media, announcing sales of registration documents with some illegal centres and subject combinations. The board’s Head, Media and Information, Dr Fabian Benjamin, gave the warning in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos. He said: “It has come to the notice of the board that some fraudsters have listed out centres for the examination and in the process, inserted some illegal ones. “Let me state here that all the processes concerning the board can only be done by approved Computer Based Centres (CBT).” According to Benjamin, over 700 centres have so far been accredited for the conduct of the 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) scheduled to commence on March 16. He said JAMB would soon publish the list of all approved centres in all its state offices nationwide to guide prospectiv...
Post a Comment
Read more

See the best Governor in the North, and here are 7 of his greatest achievements

Posted By
Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo , the Gombe state governor, has been rated best governor in northern Nigeria, following an excellent performance within his time i n office. Dankwambo was rated so based on “his outstanding achievements in road infrastructure and maintenance since his swearing in to office on the 29th of May, 2011.” According to The Vanguard, a statement signed by the secretary, Gombe People’s Congress, Aliyu Mohammed on behalf of the Chairman, Aminu Abubakar, it said Governor Dankwambo’s giant strides in infrastructural development as well as road maintenance has drastically reduced the spate of accidents usually recorded on roads in the state due to their bad nature. “On behalf of the entire Leadership of the Gombe People’s Congress and the entire people of Gombe State, We commend the service and developmental strides of His Excellency, the executive Governor of Gombe State, Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo for his outstandin...
Post a Comment
Read more