Adeleke’s aide, APC bicker over Osun’s debt portfolio
The Osun State Government and the state’s chapter of the All Progressives Party have expressed divergent opinions with regards to the state’s debt profile.
Olawale Rasheed, the spokesperson for the Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, said the debt portfolio inherited by the present administration has been reduced in the last two years after repayment made by the state government.
While Rasheed blamed the past administration of the state for incurring the debts, the state’s spokesperson for the state APC chapter, Mr Kola Olabisi, urged the state government to desist from blaming the opposition party whenever questions were raised regarding the state’s finances.
In a statement issued on Sunday in Osogbo, the state capital, Rasheed’s comments come in response to claims in a report published by an online newspaper (not PUNCH) which said Adeleke has added more to the state’s debt burden in the last two years.
Rasheed, who dismissed the report, said figures from the Debt Management Office indicate the state’s reduced debt portfolio, as he accused the APC of being the unseen hands behind the said report.
Quoting from the figures released by the DMO, Rasheed said, that as of June 2024, Osun’s domestic and external debts reduced by 42% and 15% in the last two years, respectively.
“The truth remains that the Osun State debt profile has reduced under the leadership of Governor Ademola Adeleke in the last two years. Data doesn’t lie and cannot be hidden.
“The domestic debt of Osun was ₦148.37 billion as of December 2022 but it has now reduced to ₦86.06 billion as of June 2024. In the same manner, the foreign debt as of December 2022 was $91.78 million but it has now reduced to $78.17 million as of June 2024.
“What this also means in terms of figures is that Governor Adeleke has paid back ₦62.31bn as domestic debt and paid off $13.61m in foreign debt. This is the burden the APC-led past administration imposed on the people of the state. If this administration hadn’t inherited those debts, these said amounts would have been better used for the good people of Osun State.
“The online medium failed to do due diligence and published APC’s fabricated fake news. The figures published by the DMO have now exposed the falsehood and fake news. The fact remains that Governor Adeleke has not taken any loans. There is transparency and accountability in this government. We are concerned about the welfare of the people and we will keep doing that,” Rasheed said.
However, Olabisi, who said the facts available pointed to an increase in the debt portfolio, added that whatever being said by the government about the report was an afterthought.
He said, “Whatever he is pushing to the public now regarding the state debt portfolio is an afterthought which cannot be relied upon. We didn’t cook what was published as it affects the debt portfolio of the state government under Adeleke.
“It is in the public domain already. Where did Olawale (Rasheed) get his figures? It is known to all and sundry. More so, he should stop blaming us for whatever mess they are creating for themselves. They can’t continue to blame us for their ineptitude.”
