The State of Osun House of Assembly has passed the Local Government (Amendment) Bill, 2018 into law.
Relying on Order 54 Rule (1) of the Standing Orders and Rules of the House that empowers the Parliament to process a bill in a day from the first reading to the third which is the final passage of the bill into law procedurally, the bill works was completed today.
This was done through a motion moved by the Majority Leader of the House, Hon. Timothy Owoeye(Ilesa East) and Hon. Olalekan Afolabi(Ifelodun) at a plenary presided over by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Najeem Salaam.
The bill a self sponsored one by the House Committee on Public Accounts headed by Hon. Olalekan Afolabi as the chairman is to ensure efficiency, productivity, effectiveness and timely submission of reports of audit query and assessment of projects executed by the local governments and LCDA in the state by the office of the Auditor General for Local Government as prescribed by the extant law of the state in this regards.
The law when becomes full operational after the assent of the Governor will also ensure transparency, accountability and probity in the audit exercise in the interest of the state and its citizenry among other benefits to be gained from the law.
Having an organic law in this respect it will also encourage IGR of the state, see to the setting aside a pool of funds to work with by the office of the Auditor General for Local Government for more productivity and to empower the Lawmakers and Auditor General for Local Government and his staffs to optimum performances in both their oversight functions and audit exercise in tune with the modern day technological challenges according to the financial international standard practice.
The law will also ensure timely payments of approved expenses and allowances meant for the performance of the duties of the office of the Auditor General for Local Government so as to record and achieve a desired goals as the timely payments of such allowances will help in doing an in depth audit and legislative oversight functions in the local governments and LCDAs in the state.
With this Osun State has joined the league of States in the Southwest Region that have passed similar bills into laws such as Ekiti, Ondo and Oyo States. On this, Hon. Salaam, enjoined the Governor, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola to timely assent his signature to the law considering its many benefits to the state and the people.
Also today the newly appointed Clerk of the House, Mr. Simeon Akinwale Amusan and the newly appointed Secretary of the House Service Commission, Mr. Sola Omiyefa were respectively sworn in and presented with instruments of office.
The Speaker, Dr. Najeem Salaam, charged the newly sworn in officers to let the new positions spur them to do more in terms of service to the Assembly and the state as a whole.
In his remarks, Amusan, who was described by the Speaker as vibrant, diligent, meticulous and intelligent was full of gratitude to God and the Assembly for the elevation promised to be more committed and dedicated to duty for the betterment of the service being the first product of the Assembly Autonomy to attain such a position.
