The Lagos State House of Assembly has commenced the consideration of the 2024 Statutory Audit Inspection Report of the Auditor-General for Local Governments covering the accounts of the state’s 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs).
The two-week exercise, being conducted by the House Committee on Public Accounts (Local), began with the appearance of officials from Alimosho, Amuwo-Odofin, Badagry, Ajeromi-Ifelodun, Ikeja, Oriade and Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government Councils.
The exercise is aimed at examining the financial activities of the councils for the year ended December 31, 2024, while promoting accountability, transparency and prudent management of public resources.
Speaking at the commencement of the exercise, Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Prince Nureni Akinsanya, said the scrutiny was part of the committee’s statutory responsibility to examine the Auditor-General’s report and ensure that funds entrusted to the councils were properly accounted for.
Akinsanya said chairmen of the LGAs and LCDAs, as well as relevant officials, would be required to respond to outstanding issues raised in the audit report and provide documentary evidence to support their submissions.
He stressed that the exercise was not aimed at witch-hunting any council official, but was designed to enable the committee to discharge its constitutional responsibilities objectively, transparently and without bias.
According to him, particular attention would be paid to how revenues accruing to the councils during the period under review were utilised and accounted for, while expenditures would also undergo detailed scrutiny.
The committee chairman added that its findings and recommendations would subsequently be presented before the House for consideration and appropriate action.
He urged council officials to cooperate fully with the committee by promptly providing requested documents, financial records and explanations throughout the exercise.
Members of the committee present at the commencement of the exercise included Hon. Abdulkareem Jubril, Hon. Olusegun Ege, Hon. Yinka Kazeem, Hon. Suraju Tijani, Hon. Bonu Solomon, Hon. Ganiyu Sanni, Hon. Ogundipe Stephen and Hon. Femi Saheed.
The committee is expected to continue the exercise with appearances by officials from other LGAs and LCDAs as the consideration of their respective 2024 audit reports progresses.
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