From Lateef Dada, Osogbo
Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has approved the immediate suspension of Dr Niyi Oginni, the Executive Secretary of Osun Health Insurance Agency (OHIS), and Dr Adebukola Olujide, the Head of the Primary Health Care Development Board in the state.
Adeleke also directed the Public Procurement Agency and other relevant government agencies to immediately kick off the process to recover all outstanding tender fees on contract awards, JVAs, MOU, etc, to which the state government is a party, in the last four years.
He ordered a holistic investigation of the Public Procurement Agency (the Due Process Office) to determine the extent of its culpability in the alleged remittance of tender fees to the state treasury and contract manipulation in the last four years.
A statement by the Governor’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, said the suspension of the two Chief Executive Officers was sequel to the interim report of the committee on contracts and MOU chaired by Hon Niyi Owolade which indicted the two agency chiefs of gross abuse of office, mismanagement of public resources and serial violations of agency and public service regulations and laws.
“The committee in its recommendation had unearthed the unethical practices of the suspended heads of the OSHIA and the PHCB as manifested in contract awards without due process, non-remittance of the actual tender fee collected from contractors, contracts without value for money like the PHCs, deliberate splitting of contracts.
“The committee further found out that the suspended OHIS boss gave contracts to the tune of several millions of naira to his biological daughter and his private Hospital in the Agency he is heading, while the Acting Career Head in the Primary Health Care lied on oath when she falsely denied knowledge of all contracts of infrastructures and supplies in the PHCs, resorting to bulk-passing and blame trading,” it added.
