A HIGH drama of the absurdist school played out yesterday on the floor of the Ogun State House of Assembly when the state Accountant-General (AG), Babatunde Salawu, finally appeared before the lawmakers to answer the latter's questions on the state's financial buoyancy or otherwise.

The question on everybody's lips at the hearing was: How could a high-ranking Civil Servant of 25 years experience be so ignorant of major policies being churned out by the state government through official agencies under his charge?

It must be said that the two and half hours of extensive questioning by the House was indelibly marked with Salawu's shocking refrain of "I don't have the answer or I don't know" to most questions directed at him on government policies and the financial state of Ogun.

For example, Salawu said he did not know how much the state generates from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

He also said he did not have information about the much-publicised moves by the Gbenga Daniel-led government to obtain N60 billion loan in the form of bonds at the floor of the Nigerian Stocks Exchange (NSE).

Salawu only showed up in the House after the legislators threatened to order his arrest following the accountant-general's alleged lax treatment of the Assembly's three summons served on him.

But the AG on Wednesday issued a statement in Abeokuta insisting that he received only an invitation letter from the House, which he replied to, informing the Assembly why he could not see them at that particular time and promised to see them at their own convenience.

Salawu and some of his officials had arrived the Assembly at 10a.m but had to wait till 2:05p.m when proceedings began.

Before proceedings started, Salawu was able to prove that he received only one invitation letter from the House and sought an apology from the lawmakers, saying their claims that he shunned the summons had painted him as an irresponsible officer.

In response, the Speaker, Tunji Egbetokun, said: "I think you will need apology from your colleagues in the Civil Service. We gave an order and we assumed it had been carried out."

A member, Remi Hassan had asked Salawu whether it was possible for the government to incur any debt without his knowledge to which he said it was impossible. But when asked the number of Accounts the government operates, the AG said he did not know.

He, however, disclosed that he had prepared the State Accounts for 2007 and 2008, which he said were with the Auditor-General.

On debt profile of the state as at May 2009, Salawu said "give me time." The House obliged the AG on this and asked him to go back and get information on the debt profile of all state government agencies; debts the government owes the bank; and debt owed contractors

Egbetokun then asked the AG when he these information could be available, said Salawu: "I am not promising that I will bring all the information you have asked me to bring."

At this stage, Mr. Tokunbo Oshin (Ijebu-Igbo Constituency), apparently angered by Salawu's response, told the AG: "You have come here to deliberately deceive and mislead us."

The Speaker, in his final remark, said: "Let us give him (Salawu) more time. We will again invite him to come with the Commissioner for Finance and the Auditor-General".

Salawu, the Finance Commissioner and the Auditor-General were ordered to appear before the House next Thursday.


http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/news/article12//indexn3_html?pdate=190609&ptitle=Ogun%20accountant-general%20clueless%20on%20state%20of%20treasury,%20others&cpdate=190609

How can you not know how much debt your state has, and you want to go to the bond market? Only a fool will buy this states bond without knowledge of the state's financial position. Is it not compulsory for states to get an independent rating (S&P, Fitch) before going to the bond market?

@Moneygurl
I am not sure you want an accountant general who was not told what to expect by way of an agenda when he was going to the summons to just churn out any figure as being debt profile of a state, no matter how technologically advanced the financial set up they have.

You guys like controversy, he tells the house 50billion naira, then commissioner comes next week and says 60billion naira, then you guys say they are not serious.

Debt profile is not kept daily. The house can decide that they provide such statistic every quarter for review.

Whoever said the AG was clueless seems to be the clueless one.
I think he was better off playing mumu to the pot bellied lawmakers than revealing the massive debt and corruption going on in the state.

The only guy that seem to get the jeck was Tokunbo Oshin who told the AG: "You have come here to deliberately deceive and mislead us."