Migori Governor Obado faces PAC

Migori Governor Okoth Obado yesterday defied a directive by the Council of Governors (CoG) and appeared before a Senate watchdog committee to respond to audit questions.

Obado was grilled by the County Public Accounts and Investment Committee on various queries raised by Auditor General Edward Ouko on expenditure during the 2017-2018 financial year.

Last week, CoG pleaded with the committee to suspend appearances until a committee formed by the council gives its verdict on suspicious expenditure reflected in audit reports of several counties.

At the session chaired by Senator Moses Kajwang' (Homa Bay), Obado dismissed claims that part of Sh1.56 billion that was spent by the administration between July 1 and September 24, 2017  could have been irregular.

He also told the committee that despite a fire gutting down one of his buildings and destroying equipment and crucial documents, such as payment vouchers, banks statements among others, his government had adequately accounted for the expenditure, through reliable "back up".