By Josephine Oguntoyinbo

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Ondo State House of Assembly has  commenced public sitting on year 2020 to 2021  audited reports of the Auditor- General for Local Governments on the accounts of the  eighteen Local Governments.

The three-days programme started yesterday by the House Committee on Public Accounts with  Six Local Governments who were  queried .

Declaring the sitting open, the Speaker of the House, Bamidele Oleyelogun posited that it was germane to ensure local governments’ accounts are accurate in conformity with the extant law.

According to him, the public sitting is significant as it is going to be the last in the annals of history of the ninth Assembly.

The Speaker who appreciated the public Accounts Committee for a job well done, especially in the aspect of clearing backlog of both State and local government Auditor-general’s reports, commended the Auditor-General for always complying with the provisions of the law in terms of prompt submission of report to the parliament.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Chairman of the Committee, Festus Adefiranye noted that the essence of the programme is to confirm the audit process, noting that it is not to witch-hunt or serve as vendetta but to ensure financial discipline.

He commended the Auditor-General and the  Heads of Local Governments Administration for the remarkable improvement in the conduct of government business and the reasonable reduction in the level of infractions recorded.

He however warned that the House will not hesitate to sanction any local government who is viewed as a cog in the wheel of progress of the Committee.

In his remarks,the  Auditor General for Local Government, Mr Francis Adaramola charged the Management of Local  Governments to continue to do what is expected of them by cooperating with the audit to achieve the set goal.