The All Progressives Congress in Osun State and Governor Ademola Adeleke on Tuesday traded accusations over claims that the state government planned to borrow N300 billion using local government funds as collateral.
The Osun chapter of the APC, in a statement released by its chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, alleged that it had uncovered a plan by the Adeleke administration to secure a fresh N300 billion loan from a commercial bank in the state by pledging council funds as collateral.
Lawal claimed the governor resorted to the alleged move after losing several legal battles related to the control of local government councils across the state. He cautioned the commercial bank involved to avoid participating in what he described as an illegal arrangement.
According to the APC chairman, the governor and members of his close political circle reportedly convened a meeting involving elected council officials from the Peoples Democratic Party as well as senior career officers in the local government system to persuade them to support the alleged plan.
“There’s no justifiable reason for the Adeleke-led government to go to such route of deliberately and wickedly plunging the state into avoidable debts which generations unborn would be made liable for its repayment.
“Governor Adeleke should be called to order by the stakeholders of the state and be made to understand that the state is not part of his family estates which he could be administering through his whims and caprices but the law of the land.
“We, as a party, are condemning the deliberate unpatriotic plans of Governor Adeleke to add to the burden of the people of the state by illegally scheming to squander the money meant for the development of the grassroots on frivolous issues which could not be in the interest of the people of the state.
“The development is in clear contravention of the Debt Management Office Act 2003, which specifies that the local government cannot borrow such money without the signature of the Federal Minister of Finance, the Accountant-General of the Federation and the executive councils of the local governments, that is, the reinstated APC chairmen and councilors”, he added.
Reacting to the allegations, the spokesperson to Governor Adeleke, Olawale Rasheed, dismissed the claims and accused the APC of spreading falsehoods to cover what he described as its wrongful handling of local government funds in the state.
Rasheed said the governor’s office strongly denied any plan to obtain a loan from a commercial bank, adding that the accusations were a diversion from alleged misconduct by the opposition party.
“The mob occupation of the council secretariats and the diversion of LG funds into pockets of cronies are major albatross for Osun APC and its chieftains. Osun voters and the law won’t spare all those involved. Aside legal accountability, Osun voters will electorally punish APC impostors and illegals inflicting hardship on Osun grassroots.
“Osun state government under Governor Adeleke is not in the business of criminal deals with financial institutions like the Osun APC. Mr Governor is fixated on completely cleaning up the fiscal, infra and social mess inherited from the Oyetola administration”, he said.
What you should know
The dispute highlights the ongoing political rivalry between the ruling Peoples Democratic Party government in Osun State and the opposition All Progressives Congress.
Since the election of Governor Ademola Adeleke in 2022, both parties have repeatedly clashed over control of local government structures and management of council funds.
Allegations and counter-allegations between the two camps have continued to shape the political atmosphere in the state, particularly as legal battles and political tensions persist over governance and financial decisions affecting grassroots administration.
