Ismail Omipidan, the chief press secretary to former Osun state governor Gboyega Oyetola, has refuted claims that his principal left the state in debt.
Governor Ademola Adeleke had accused his predecessor of a N18.04 billion loan from FGN Bridge Finance Facility after the 16 July 2022 election which Oyetola lost, claiming there is no information on repayment terms. Also he claimed that the South-West state is indebted to the tune of N407.32 billion.
But hours later, Oyetola’s aide dismissed the allegations, saying that “if they had provided the dates where those debts were procured, it would have been very clear that none were sourced under Adeboyega Oyetola in the four years he spent”.
He said during his appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today that the N18 billion was budget support from the Federal Government which other states benefited from and was also captured in his principal’s farewell speech
“It is the same N18bn, I want to suspect, they are cleverly claiming that Oyetola borrowed. I make bold to say that for the four years we ran Osun State, we did not take any bank facility and these facts are in the public domain,” he said on Thursday.
“Is it possible to take a loan without going through the House of Assembly? The House of Assembly members are there, the Speaker is there; they are all alive and you can crosscheck these facts from them. The debts they are reeling out were the debts we also inherited from the Aregbesola administration from where we even paid N97 billion.”
As far as he is concerned, the Adeleke administration should make public where it is getting the funds to run the state since all Osun accounts have been frozen by the current government.
“If by their claim that we left them in debt, let them tell the world where they have been sourcing the money they have been spending since November 27th when they came on board.”
Also speaking during the show, Olawale Rasheed, the spokesman to Adeleke claimed that another $100 million debt was discovered after his principal’s meeting with monarchs on Thursday.
According to him, the accountant-general of the state released the data on Osun’s debts.
“We came into government without handing over notes, without anybody giving us a statement of account,” he added
“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,” he said, claiming that Osun State’s treasury is “empty” after November salaries were paid to workers.