OSOGBO —The six- man investigation panel instituted by Governor Rauf Aregbesola to look into the activities of the Bureau of Computer and Information Technology has submitted its report which exposed how a whooping N2.5 billion was misappropriated in the last six years.

The amount was spent on Information and Communication Technology, ICT, projects through which contracts were awarded between 2005 when the bureau was set up by former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola and 2011 when the panel was constituted to investigate its activities.

Led by Otunba Akin Doherty, a forensic auditor  and pioneer Commissioner for Science and Technology in Lagos State, the panel discovered that ICT projects totalling N2.5 billion were awarded in questionable manner by the bureau.

The panel chairman, while briefing Governor Aregbesola  also reported that the entire N2.5 billion spent on the ICT projects did not have any appreciable impact on the people it was supposed to serve with specific reference to the fact that the computer literacy level in Osun State Public Service was still low despite the huge investment on the sector.

Giving details of how financial regulations were disregarded by the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Abiodun Oladapo, the panel chairman disclosed that ICT projects were carried out by direct labour without following official regulations.

He cited the example of how a particular contract worth N837 million was divided into 76 units by Oladapo in a manner suggesting fraud.

He explained further that the PS did so in order to ensure that they were within his official approval limit without submitting to the scrutiny of higher authorities.

Concluding, Doherty submitted that the objective set out in the instrument of establishment of the Bureau had not been achieved while describing the activities of the ICT unit in the Office of the Governor for the past six years as “disastrous”.

Responding, Governor Aregbesola whom asked for executive summary of the report also promised to refer the document to those who would work on the white paper.

The governor expressed delight that the assignment had been handled by a team whose members come from respectable background and commended the chairman for putting his skill and knowledge to the services of the people of Osun State.

Aregbesola expressed regrets that the computer service in the office of the Governor was not connected to the human resources data bank of the public service while it also did not have any imput into the computation of workers salaries in the state.

He declared that despite huge expenditure on the bureau “the entire services of the Bureau of Computer Services (BCS) rendered to Osun state was purely secretarial which a laptop using spreadsheet could handle”.

The governor decried a situation whereby the Permanent Secretary subverted laid down procedures with the system of receipts virtually non-existent as reportedly confirmed by the Auditor-General of the state when the panel was in session.