Osun govt clears air on alleged plan to take loan

The Osun State Government has described as fallacious and misleading, a news report circulating in some sections of the media suggesting that the state government is seeking to obtain loan to fund the 2024 budget.

In a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Oluomo Kolapo Alimi, he berated the report as fiction of imagination of detractors and members of the opposition who are hellbent on twisting facts to mislead the public.

Oluomo Kolapo emphasized that the Osun state Executive Council has neither received nor approved any loan request from Governor Adeleke for funding the 2024 budget from November 2022 till date, affirming that all budget funding has been within the confines of the federal allocation (FAAC) and Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

“The administration of His Excellency, Governor Ademola Adeleke has not taken any loan from November 2022 till date. Despite the lean purse and meager resources of the state, the Governor has employed a frugal approach in managing state resources. All our infrastructural projects are being funded with allocation from the federation and independent revenue.”

Addressing the purported N 12 billion loan request in the news report, Oluomo Kolapo explained that development partnership is a national decision jointly taken by comity states to advance development from the grassroots. He further disclosed that Nigeria and World Bank, in partnership with Osun and other state governments is running several developmental programmes like School feeding; Osun-CARES etc.

“Osun like several other states of the federation is committed to development partnership decision jointly taken with the federal government. The World Bank in partnership with the Federal Government is funding several development programmes like the O-CARES programmes, School feeding programmes among others.”

“These are National Programmes approved by the National Economic Council (NEC) and jointly funded under the World Bank partnership model. They are programmes inherited from the immediate past administration in Osun State. Governor Adeleke will continue to support programmes and initiatives that will advance the development of the people of Osun State.” the statement concluded.