The inability of OSOPADEC to produce the requested records meant auditors could not verify whether the contracts complied with procurement laws, financial regulations, approved contract terms or implementation standards.
The 2025 report of the Ondo State Auditor-General has raised fresh concerns over transparency and accountability in the management of billions of naira meant for development projects in the state's oil-producing communities, after auditors revealed that the Ondo State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (OSOPADEC) failed to produce contract documents for seven projects worth about N6.7 billion.
The audit finding, contained in the Auditor-General's report for the year ended December 31, 2025, has triggered questions over whether due procurement processes were followed in awarding the multi-billion-naira contracts, particularly as independent checks by SaharaReporters uncovered that some of the beneficiary companies were only recently incorporated, while another could not be traced on official corporate records.
Under the heading, "Contract Documents Not Produced," the Auditor-General stated: "We requested for the under listed contract documents, but the Commission is yet to oblige Audit of same."
