The governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, has cried out over the amount of debt owed by the state from the last administration. He stated that the only money left in government coffers on Monday, November 29th, when he took over as governor, was for the November 2022 salary.
According to the governor, his administration inherited a total loan stock of N331.32 billion from the previous administration led by Gboyega Oyetola.
Adeleke made the claim during a meeting with Osun State traditional rulers in Osogbo, the state capital, on Thursday.
The governor also accused his predecessor, Oyetola of taking loans that amounted to a total of N18 billion after he lost the July 16th, 2022 Osun governorship election.
Adeleke, while confirming to the traditional rulers that the state is indebted to the tune of N407.32 billion as of November 30th, 2022, submitted that “My administration inherited eight outstanding loan facilities, apart from salaries and pension debts, from Governor Oyetola’s administration.
“My good people of Osun state, the total loan stock as of today is N331.32 billion.
“If the N76 billion debt on salaries and pension is added, the state is indebted to the tune of N407.32 billion. The amount owed to contractors is yet to be determined.
“The only fund in government coffers, as of Monday 29th November, was for November 2022 Salary. Otherwise, the state treasury was empty.
“As your governor, I will ask questions on your behalf. And will demand answers.
“Governor Oyetola must explain how the N331 Billion borrowed in the name of Osun State was expended, with no obvious infrastructural development to justify this huge debt.
“Governor Oyetola must explain how the N18 Billion Bridge Loan is taken after he lost the election on July 16, 2022, was expended.
“Governor Oyetola must also explain why Osun state is owing salaries and pension to the tune of N76 Billion after collecting an N50 Billion Salary Bail Out Loan from the Federal Government.
“The creditors, especially the Commercial Banks must explain why various loans were given to an administration beyond its 4-year tenure. 28 years is equivalent to the tenure of at least four governors. A child that is born today would have earned a PhD at 28 years of age. This is nothing but mortgaging the future of Osun State with nothing to show for it. This is definitely not acceptable.”
Oyetola Refutes Gov Adeleke’s Claim Of Leaving N407bn Debt
Meanwhile, the immediate past Governor of Osun State, Gboyega Oyetola, has denied claims that he took an N18 billion loan facility and left a debt of N407.32 billion.
However, Oyetola has stated that the allegations by his successor are false, stressing that he did not take any loans during his four years tenure in office In an interview on Channels Television on Thursday, Oyetola’s spokesman, Ismail Omipidan, insisted that his principal left N14 billion in the state coffers, and the debts reeled out were the debts inherited from the Rauf Aregbesola administration.
Omipidan also disclosed that the Oyetola administration paid the sum of N97 billion from the debt inherited from the Aregbesola administration.
He said: “They only listed when those debts will be liquidated, but they did not list when they were procured. At least, if you have the date when a debt would lapse, you should have the date of when it was procured.
“I’m very sure that they did that deliberately to cover their lies, because if they had provided the date where these debts were sourced, it would have been very clear that none was sourced under Gboyega Oyetola for the four years he spent.
“I make bold to say that for the four years we ran Osun state, we did not take any loan facility and these facts are in public domain. “Is it possible to take a loan without going through the house of assembly? The house of assembly members are there, the speaker is still there, they are all alive so you can cross-check this fact from them.
“The debts they were reeling out were the debts we also inherited from Aregbesola administration, from where we even paid N97 billion.” Also speaking during the interview Adeleke’s media aide, Olawale Rasheed, said another $100 million debt was discovered after the governor’s meeting with traditional rulers on Thursday. Rasheed said the data on Osun debts were released by the accountant-general of the state, who he said was appointed by Oyetola.
The spokesperson added that the state treasury is currently “empty” after the payment of November salary to workers. He said: “We came into government without handing over notes, without anybody giving us a statement of account. We called the accountant-general of the state to give us the liabilities and the assets of the state. Mind you, this accountant worked with Oyetola for four years; he is not our appointee.”
