A former Accountant General of the Federation, AGF, Jonah Ogunniyi Otunla, is dead. Otunla passed in the United Kingdom on Monday, June 17, 2024, at the age of 69.
A family source close to the Irawo, Atisbo local government-born former accountant general of Oyo, reportedly informed OYOINSIGHT.COM that “Otunla died in his sleep.”
The source was quoted to have said:”He slept and didn’t wake up. He still opened the door for someone at 5 O’ clock this morning and went back to sleep, but didn’t wake up.”
Otunla just celebrated his 69th birthday on June 12.
Recall that he was accused of stealing N21 billion.
Another report in Leadership said he died in a UK hospital from an undisclosed ailment.
The report said: “While alive, he faced prosecution from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
“He was being hounded in connection with two cases — the alleged diversion of about N24 billion meant for disengaged staff members of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and N2 billion allegedly received from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
“Along the line, he refunded to the Federal Government a few billion naira,” the source added.
Otunla, who hails from Oyo State, once served as a board member of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
He had his secondary education at Baptist High School, Saki, where he obtained the West African School Certificate in 1972 before proceeding to University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in financial accounting.
He became a chartered accountant in 1986 but received the fellowship of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in 1998.
According to Wikipedia, Otunla was born on June 12, 1955, in Oyo State, southwestern Nigeria.
He had his secondary education at Baptist High School, Saki, where he obtained the West African School Certificate in 1972 before he proceeded to Obafemi Awolowo University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in financial accounting.
He became a chartered accountant in 1986 but received the fellowship of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria in 1998.
Career
He began his career in August 1980 with Unilever as an accountant. He left the organization in 1989, to join the Oyo State Civil Service as Chief Internal Auditor, the same year, he became the Director of Finance.
In June 1989, he was appointed Accountant General of the State, a position he held until March 2004, when he got a transfer to the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.
On June 28, 2011, he was appointed the Accountant General of the Federation by Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, the former President of Nigeria.
On June 12, 2015, Otunla retired from the civil service after attaining the mandatory age of 60 years.
