OSUN: Adeleke has not borrowed since becoming governor -Aide

Olawale, in a statement obtained in Osogbo today, stated that the clarification was in reaction to statistics attributed to some opposition lawmakers who accused Governor Ademola Adeleke of expanding Osun debt and getting security votes worth billions of naira.

Rasheed, who described the claim as malicious, stated that Adeleke is pursuing his several governance projects within the constraints of available resources from federal appropriations and internally generated revenue.

The statement partly read, “The Debt Management Office is the national debt data repository. According to the DMO, Osun owed foreign lenders the sum of $91,779,393.97 as of December 31, 2022, and by December 31, 2023, the external debt profile of Osun stood at $87,247,488.51.

“From the figures above, Osun’s external debt dropped. The noticeable difference in the naira value of Osun’s external debt was due to the significant devaluation of the naira. In 2022, a dollar averaged at N460, and so on. The naira value of $91,779,393.97 Osun’s external debt in 2022 was N41bn compared to 2023 when a dollar averaged N1,400, which is essentially why despite the fact that Osun’s debt reduced to $87,247,488.51, the naira equivalent was N78bn”, Olawale narrated.

“On the allegation of security services votes included in the uploaded budget performance report, let me clarify that the subhead only referred to the cost of various security services and operations across the state which is different from the conventional concept of security votes as drawn by most state governors.

“The security service funds in the identified subhead were used among other interventions to service special peacekeeping operations, provide logistics support to quench inter communal clashes and support the operations of the different security agencies across the state.”

He added that the funds meant for various security related services are accessed through normal approval processes with appropriate records kept.

“We however firmly affirm that Mr Governor did not and is not drawing any personal security votes as is the convention before his assumption of office. This is in line with his avowed commitment to free state resources to execute his ambitious five point agenda,” he averred.