Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke had suspended the Executive Secretary of the Osun Health Insurance Scheme (OHIS), Dr Niyi Oginni and the Head of the Primary Health Care Development Board in the State, Dr Adebukola Olujide.
Adeleke ordered the Public Procurement Agency and other relevant government agencies to immediately kick off the process to recover all outstanding tender fees on contract awards to which the State Government is a party, in the last four years.
This was contained in a statement signed by Adeleke’s spokesperson, Rasheed Olawale in Osogbo on Sunday.
Adeleke also announced a holistic investigation of the Public Procurement Agency (the Due Process Office) to determine the extent of its culpability in the alleged non-remittance of tender fees to the state treasury and contract manipulation during the administration of his predecessors, Adegboyega Oyetola.
The suspension of the two Chief Executive Officers was a sequel to the interim report of the Committee on Contracts and memorandum of understanding 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 accused the suspended officers of unethical practices including contract awards without due process, non-remittance of the actual tender fees collected from contractors, contracts without value for money like the PHCs, and deliberate splitting of contracts.
The Committee further discovered that the suspended OHIS boss gave contracts to the tune of several millions of naira to his biological daughter and 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.