The Clerk, Oyo State House of Assembly, Mrs. Yetunde Awe, her predecessor Ms Felicia Oyediran and four other officials of the Assembly were quizzed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday.
They were interrogated at the commission’s Ibadan zonal office throughout the day over their role in the award and payment for a contract for supply of 33 brand new Toyota Camry cars for the state lawmakers and two other jobs totaling over N1billion.
Others are the renovation of the Speaker’s official residence and establishment and supply of digital equipment for media office for the Assembly.
The commission picked most of them up in their offices yesterday.
A source confirmed that the officials were being particularly grilled on their role in the disbursement of about N300 million in cash for the executed jobs.
The Deputy Clerk, Mrs. Taiwo Muraina-Akinola and the Director of Admin and Supplies (DAS) Mr. Kayode Kolawole were arrested and quizzed last week.
But the immediate past clerk, Ms Oyediran, some directors and the paymaster Mr. Adebowale Adeoye, were also taken to the commission to answer questions yesterday. Mrs Oyediran retired from service earlier this year but the jobs were undertaken during her tenure as clerk.
The interrogation followed a petition by an Abuja-based lawyer and anti-corruption advocate, Tosin Ojaomo, alleging that the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Adebo Ogundoyin, in connivance with top civil servants in the House, defrauded the state in a N1,031,380,000 contract to supply 33 brand new vehicles for the state lawmakers.
Reacting to the development, the Speaker, Adebo Ogundoyin, said he was available for interrogation on his role in the contract.
He said in a statement yesterday that the Assembly under his leadership has nothing to hide, pointing out that the anti-graft agency was only doing its job.
“I am ready to visit the EFCC if invited. As the Speaker, I will surely answer any question relating to the contract. We followed due process in the purchase of the vehicles in line with the laid down procedures. We have since taken the petition in good faith. The petition is a strength to democracy. It is not strange to us as democrats, who take transparency and accountability as our watchwords. We were transparent and we will continue to be.”
According to him, quotations were received from three companies for the supply of the vehicles and the most satisfying among them was awarded the contract.
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