VOICE AIR MEDIA
Osun State House of Assembly on Wednesday set up a committee to probe the state debt profile.
The Speaker, Timothy Owoeye, at the plenary inaugurated a 10-man ad-hoc committee to urgently do a thorough investigation on the exact debt profile of the state.
Owoeye in a statement by his media aide, Kunle Alabi, obtained in Osogbo, also stated that the figure of the state debt portfolio that the lawmakers had was different from the figure disclosed by the Governor, Ademola Adeleke, recently.
The committee that would be chaired by the Speaker, also had Chairman House Committee on Public Account and Chairman of the Committee on Finance and Appropriation, Mr. Gbenga Ogunkanmi and Mr. Adebayo Olodo respectively as the Co-Chairmen.
Others on the committee include; Minority leader, Kofo Adewunmi, Tunde Olatunji, Michael Adetoyi, Babatunde Ibirogba, Lateef Adebisi, Babatunde Komolafe, Adiru Abefe, while the Clerk, Simeon Amusan would serve as the Secretary.
Owoeye noted that the issue around debt portfolio of the state, if not carefully handled may affect investment coming into Osun.
Relying on sections 128 and 129, the statement quoted Owoeye as saying, “For the purposes of any investigation under section 128 of this constitution and subject to the provisions thereof, a House of Assembly or a committee appointed in accordance within section 103 of this constitution shall have power to.
“(a) procure all such evidence, written or oral, direct or circumstantial, as it may think necessary or desirable and examine all persons as witnesses whose evidence may be material or relevant to the subject matter;”.
“The only institution that can clear the air on this is the House of Assembly, government is continuum, this exercise is going to be transparent, that’s why we have co-opted the Minority leader into the committee.”