Dr Kayode Fayemi:

The Ekiti State House of Assembly on Thursday held a public hearing on the financial transactions of the 16 local governments across the state within the last one year.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the public hearing took place at the main chamber of the legislative building at the State Assembly Complex in Ado-Ekiti.

The Chairman, House Committee on Public Accounts, Mr Olaposi Omodara said that the essence of the public hearing was to ensure proper accountability, prudence and probity in the management of public funds.

He doused the insinuations that the public hearing was organised to witch hunt anybody, stressing that the exercise was only aimed at efficient use of public funds at the local government level.

Other lawmakers, who spoke at the forum, condemned the unreasonable spending of the bailout funds due for the local government by the immediate past administration in the state.

Vice President of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Olatunde Oluseyi, who spoke on behalf of the local government called for autonomy for the local government.

He also called for legislation to regulate activities of the Ministry of Local Government, adding that the ministry had rendered local government administration in the state ineffective.