The Osun state chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, on Thursday bemoaned the administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke for mismanaging the resources of the state in the last two years of being at the helms of affairs.
The opposition party chided Adeleke for misappropriating over N630billion accrued to the state and 30 local government areas from all sources in the last 24 months of being in office, saying his government has failed woefully.
Addressing journalists at a Press Conference, held at Ilerioluwa Campaign Office, Osogbo, the APC State Chairman, Alhaji Tajudeen Lawal, described the two years of Adeleke’s government as most unfortunate, most ridiculous and one that had taken Osun State back to the primitive age.
Lawal noted that the existence of Adeleke’s government is a ruse as it only exists on paper, saying in the truest sense of the word, there has been an absence of government in Osun in the last two years.
The Osun APC Chairman, who was represented by the APC State Director of Media and Information, Chief Kola Olabisi, noted that inspite of noise and fantasy of creating an Eldorado for the Osun workers, both in active service and in retirement, Governor Adeleke has recorded collosal loss in all sectors as he has been paying a lip service to the welfare of the workers and general well-being of the residents of the state.
According to APC, “the government of the day has proven that it despises accountability and transparency as each time it is confronted with fact that the increased revenue has not reflected on the mass of the people, it is always quick to romanticize payment of half-salary owed by the government of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as what is drawing down the humongous allocation.
“Given the N630 billion revenue ( both states and 30 LGAs) that has come the way of the current administration, the government should not have got any excuse not to have fully settled the modulated arrears.
“Specifically, the state government received from January 2023 to September 2024, a sum of N385 billion from federal allocation, grants, IGR, etc. This include N4.3 billion UBEC and N1.3 billion TETFUND grants received from the federal government in 2023 to uplift infrastructure in our primary and tertiary institutions.
“All these FG grants do not form part of the federation allocation which has doubled since 2023 when subsidies on fuel and forex were removed by the federal government.
“By all estimates, Osun has been lucky with revenue, particularly with the federal revenue which has recorded 100% rise in the last 12 months. The federal allocation in 2022, before the inauguration of the current government, was N73 billion ( before debt deductions).
“Meanwhile, as of end of third quarter of 2024 ( September), the state had already received N153 billion federal allocation, N50 billion above the N99 billion projected for the whole year”, Lawal stated .
The APC berated Governor Adeleke for his deliberate refusal to fund the key sectors of the economy inspite of financial windfall, accusing him of spending over N38 billion on personal comfort.
The opposition party lambasted Governor Adeleke for wasting the state resources for the procurement of “audio tractor” in which only 31 out of 114 claimed to have bought with a whooping sum of N8 billion were ridiculously unveiled as the whereabouts of the said machines are unknown to the people of the state.
The APC Chairman, who wondered the unchecked impropriety in governance and naked nepotism, noted that it is unfortunate that the ongoing Ido-Osun Airport which is a collective heritage and patrimony of the state had been wickedly relocated to Ede, Adeleke’s country home.
He equally said that the government had been deceiving the public regarding its commitment to the welfare of the workers.
“Of the N82 billion earmarked for Personnel this year, only N39 billion, representing 47% of the projection for the year, was released as at September. This is according to the budget performance report for the third quarter of 2024. It is strange to note also that out of N20.5 billion earmarked for pension and gratuity in 2024, only N4.8 billion, representing less than 20%, had been released as of September. In fact, out of N11.4 billion budgeted for pension and gratuity arrears, no Kobo was released as at end of third quarter.
“The picture here is that the claim of Governor Adeleke of offsetting backlog of pension and gratuity is all fat lie from the pit of h*ll. There is nothing to justify the claim in the official document of the state government.
“Some days ago, as part of his efforts to glorify his hopeless government, Governor Adeleke made futile effort to defame the administration of his predecessors. In the speech, the governor beautified how his administration in 24 months released N22.6 billion to settle pension and gratuity, an amount he claimed represented 70% of what the ‘two previous administrations under a 12 year period’ paid for the same purpose.
“It is ungratifying that a state governor would lie openly about figures and details contained in the audited accounts of the state. Nothing could be that demeaning. In actual fact, the N17.2 billion quoted by Governor Adeleke as what was paid in the entire four years of the former governor Oyetola to settle pension and gratuity was what the previous government in just two years of existence paid. This is a testament that the government of Adeleke can not be trusted”, he affirmed.
