Osun State Government and the All Progressives Congress, APC, have traded accusations over an alleged N300 million corruption scandal said to involve a senior civil servant in the state.
The APC, in a statement signed by its Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi, on Friday, accused Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration of shielding a female Permanent Secretary allegedly involved in the embezzlement of state funds.
According to the opposition party, some political functionaries in the state had taken advantage of what it described as administrative hollowness in the current government to loot public resources.
“We demand: what could have been the reason for the Adeleke administration, which professes accountability and rule of law, to be shielding a female Permanent Secretary who was caught to have embezzled over N300 million government fund?” The APC asked.
The party alleged that the state government was managing the case in secret, claiming that there was a discreet arrangement for the accused official to repay the money rather than face prosecution.
“A government that claims to be above board would not make the corruption issue against the indicted Permanent Secretary a discreet affair,” the statement read.
It also called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Nigeria Police to wade into the matter, urging both agencies to ensure justice was served.
The APC also alleged that the implicated civil servant was the wife of a serving commissioner in Adeleke’s cabinet.
However, the Osun State Government swiftly refuted the allegations, describing them as “beer parlour gossip elevated to the level of party propaganda.”
In a statement issued by the Spokesperson to the Governor, Olawale Rasheed, the government said there was no truth to any report of a N300 million scandal.
“There is no Three Hundred Million naira scam or scandal in any Osun government agency or ministry as Governor Ademola Adeleke is running a transparent government,” Rasheed stated.
He accused the APC of manufacturing falsehoods to divert attention from its low acceptability among Osun people.
According to him, the state operates a procurement system with strict oversight mechanisms, which makes such alleged corruption impossible.
“Osun operates a procurement law with threshold approvals and due process compliance. It is unthinkable that a ministry official could handle such huge amounts of funds unilaterally,” he explained.
Rasheed further emphasised that Governor Adeleke’s administration remained committed to transparency and accountability, warning that the government might take legal action against the APC official behind the allegations.
“The allegations are libellous, unfounded and a figment of imagination. There will be legal consequences for those spreading falsehoods,” he cautioned.
He described Governor Adeleke as a transparent and open governance leader who neither tolerates nor shields corruption.
“Governor Adeleke has never and will never tolerate corruption or shield any official if such misconduct ever exists,” he concluded
(Daily Post)