Gov. Rauf Aregbesola of Osun has set up a 17-man committee to oversee the allocation of funds accruable to the state.

This is contained in a statement issued by the governor's media aide, Semiu Okanlawon, on Sunday in Osogbo.

It said under the current dispensation the committee would apportion all funds accruing ‎to the state government to take care of salaries, pensions and other critical expenditures of government.

It said the birth of the committee was long overdue as it would assist government in ensuring that funds accruing to the state were properly managed.

“The financial tsunami that swept through the federation, beginning from July 2013 had crippled the finances of states and the federal government, making payment of salaries very difficult.”

It said that the committee would apportion net revenue accruing from the Federation Account and Internally Generated revenue.

The statement urged the people of the state to always pay their taxes, saying this will enable the government to pay salaries and develop the state.

“The allocation received from the federation account should be a sort of legacy fund tied to specific legacy projects that would make life better for the people and not funds to be expended anyhow.”

The statement said the 17-man committee is made up of representatives of the government and workers.

Mr. Hassan Sunmonu, the Chairman of the committee, according to the statement, commended the governor for setting up the committee.

Sunmonu said such a step would assist in finding a lasting solution to the hiccups in salary payment.

The development is coming on the heels of the disclosure of the Acting Chief Medical Director, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, Prof. Akeem Lasisi, that the government had invested N1.7 billion in capital projects in the hospital.

Lasisi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Osogbo that the amount was spent on the projects in the hospital in the last four years.

He, however, said that in spite of the huge investment, most of the projects had remained undone and uncompleted.

He disclosed that one of the projects, a laboratory complex, was without ‘’one single furniture".

Lasisi, who assumed the acting chief executive of the hospital in September, said that the hospital was in ‘comatose.’

He stated that forensic examiners were currently scrutinising the books to check details of finances of the institution ‘in the last four years and come up with recommendations.’

“Aside the investigation on financial transactions in the hospital, the forensic experts will also probe the sudden upsurge in the number of staff between 2012 and now.”

According to him, the investigation became necessary in the face of acute shortage of core clinical staff in the hospital.

“By the time I assumed office about three weeks ago, I met a hospital in a state of comatose; the resident doctors were on strike and there was total paralysis of every activity.

“More so, documented evidence shows that government has invested a total of N1.7 billion as capital project in this hospital.

“In spite of that, there are many projects that are undone or not properly done. One of the examples is the new laboratory complex; the building is there but there is no furniture.” (NAN)

•Photo shows Gov. Aregbesola.

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