FATSSSA Financial Oversight: A Transparent Review of the January 12th, 2024 FHR Sitting

By Doja

The FHR Sitting on the 12th of January, 2024, started with the FATSSSSA President, Mr Dasaolu Olamide’s presentation of the budget for the excursion; it was during his presentation of the budget that Mr Olumide revealed that the Dean of the Faculty had officially disapproved of the excursion even though he had gotten verbal approval prior to this time. According to Mr President, in the document he presented before the House, 69 persons paid N5,000 each, giving a total of N345,000. The House of Representatives required that the Audit Committee vet the documents presented by Mr President before students’ fees are reimbursed. 

The Sports Director also presented a letter requesting the withdrawal of the sum of 60,000 Naira. According to him, the money is for sponsorship of jerseys for the male football team as provided by CampusPay, which the FATSSSA Treasurer transferred to the association account. The sponsorship was based on an agreement that the Faculty would pay fees using CampusPay. The Sports Director also mentioned that the 15 jerseys for the male football team were priced at 4,500 Naira as when he inquired about it but might be subject to change. The House resolved that the sum of N60,000 would be approved for the purchase of jerseys after it had been confirmed by the audit committee that there indeed had been a transfer of that amount to the association’s account. 

For the presentation of capital projects, Mr President presented a document which showed a breakdown of the expenses for a new public address system, which amounted to 220 900 Naira. The project would also include getting the existing microphones to work better. Mr Olumide said he requested an FHR member(confirmed by Madame speaker) to follow him to Oke Padre/Ogunpa Market for a market survey for accountability. To this effect, the Clerk of the House, Honorable Faiz, attested that he accompanied Mr Olumi for a market survey and corroborated the President’s statements about the prices for the materials needed for the capital project.

 For the House Welfare Budget, there were a lot of deliberations on how to cut costs with suggestions of substituting water for drinks, among others. Madame speaker also pointed out some irregularities in the unit prices and the total amount provided in the document presented before the house. In the end, the House agreed to lay the item of the House Welfare on the table and eventually adjourned the meeting around 10:00 pm. 

During the sitting, the question of the Executives’ choice to use CampusPay as a medium of payment arose, especially with the added charge of 175 Naira. Mr Olumi responded to this question by saying that using that medium of payment would allow easy and proper documentation of transactions in the form of an Excel sheet. It was also agreed that in addition to a public statement about the cancellation of the election, the Executives would tender an apology to FATSSSAites for cancelling the excursion. The House also requested that a bank statement of the Association’s account be readied occasionally so as to make auditing and financial work easier and faster.

For the presentation of capital projects, Mr President presented a document which showed a breakdown of the expenses for a new public address system which amounted to 220, 900 Naira. The project would also include getting the existing microphones to work better. Mr Olumide said he requested a FHR member(confirmed by Madame speaker) to follow him to Oke Padre/Ogunpa Market for a market survey for the purpose of accountability. To this effect, the Clerk of the House; Honorable Faiz attested that he accompanied Mr Olumi for a market survey and corroborated the President’s statements about the prices for the materials needed for the capital project.

 

 For the House Welfare Budget, there was a lot of deliberations on how to cut costs with suggestions of substituting water for drinks among others. Madame speaker also pointed out some irregularities in the unit prices and the total amount provided in the document presented before the house. In the end, the House agreed to lay the item of the House Welfare on the table and eventually adjourned the meeting around 10:00pm. 

 

During the sitting, the question of the Executives’ choice to use CampusPay as a medium of payment arose especially with the added charge of 175 Naira. Mr Olumi responded to this question by saying that using that medium of payment would allow easy and proper documentation of transactions in the form of an excel sheet. It was also agreed that in addition to a public statement about the cancellation of the election, the Executives would tender an apology to FATSSSAites for cancelling the excursion. The House also requested that a bank statement of the Association’s account be readied occasionally so as to make auditing and financial work easier and faster.