OPIC Probe: Former MD To Re -appear Before Ogun Assembly On Monday Over Alleged 25 Audit Infractions

The immediate past Managing Director of the Ogun State Property and Investment Corporation(OPIC), Barr. Jide Odusolu is expected to re-appear before the Ogun State House of Assembly on Monday, over alleged 25 Infractions in the Audited Reports of the corporation between 2015 and 2019. 

The House Committee on Public Accounts and Anti-corruption probing the corporation's finances, had summoned Odusolu to clarify issues  on the 25 infractions raised against him from office of the State Auditor General,  during his tenure as the Managing Director .

The Speaker, Right Honourable Olakunle Oluomo, who issued the summon in Abeokuta, asked the former Managing Director to bring  all necessary documents relating to all transactions on investments, housing projects and other fixed assets of OPIC. 

Edu-Biznews recalled that the lawmakers had on Tuesday, 13th of October, engaged Odusolu for about six hours, expressing displeasure on the manner he ran the Corporation, given the 25 infractions as outlined in the audited accounts of the Corporation between 2015 and 2019.

According to the Chairman of the Committee, Hon.Musefiu Lamidi, the Corporation merged the cost of lands and buildings which contravened the provisions of the accounting standard, while the five Star Hotel, Ikeja under it did not have any physical existence but only on paper and the sum of N45, 025, 064.00 was spent to obtain title documents on the landed property, just as the premium of non-current assets for 2015- 2016 were not paid as and when due.

Lamidi also expressed concern that the Corporation under Odusolu was just updating its fixed assests register as at the period of the audit exercise, while the "depreciation policy of 20% on computer equipment did not reflect the volatility on computer technology"; hence may have led to the understatement of depreciation amount in the financial statements.

The Committee classified some housing projects meant for sales like "Orange Valley, MTR, OPIC Estate and others as Stock in Trade”.

The  rental income of OPIC Plaza, Ikeja according to the committee, was not made available for examination during the 2016 audit exercise, with no traceable records of transactions between the Agbara Estate and the billing section of the Corporation on the reconciliation of rent income generated.   

The lawmakers are also worried over the operations of twenty-one bank accounts by the organization, out of which nine were inactive.

The Committee is demanding explanations from the agency for keeping 27 accounts during the period under review, with only 11 banks amounting to N117, 792,132.99 active, while the remaining 16 accounts amounting to N608,226,371.69 were embargoed.

Also, the Committee observed that the audit report revealed that for 2019 after generating an income (including subventions and grants) of N3, 817, 778, 776.65 and expending a total of N1,197,182,579.27, the balance is N2,620,596,187.38.

The Committee added that the expected bank balance at the end of year- 2018 was put at N2, 564, 398, 282.51, bringing the expected balance to N5,184,994,469.89 available to the agency.

The lawmakers  considering the 2019 bank balance sheets submitted to the house which puts the balance at N726, 018,504.68 representing an unaccounted balance of N4,458,975,965.21 which needed to be accounted for.

The house expressed concern that funds expended on MITROS Residences, Abeokuta were not appropriated for in line with best budgeting practices by the State, hence the need to avail the committee with documents in support of all cost lines and revenue on the properties between January 2015 and February, 2020.

 Odusolu while responding to the issues raised in the Audited Reports, outlined some of the housing projects carried out by the Corporation under his purview, appreciated the lawmakers for the opportunity to clarify issues during the period under review.

The former M.D. posited that the Corporation needed to be run like an independent business enterprises, which should be devoid of the public service scrutiny, rules and processes.

His  position was however faulted  by the lawmakers who insisted that such action violated the extant laws that any State owned investment or organisation should always be subjected to public scrutiny in line with the constitution