The governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, has said that his administration will look into allegations that Adegboyega Oyetola amassed a debt of N407.32 billion while in office.
The governor announced to the state's traditional leaders on Thursday in Osogbo, the capital of Osun State.
"The state owes a total of N407.32 billion in debt. As of Monday, November 29, the only fund in the government's treasury was for the wage for November 2022. The governmental treasury was empty; otherwise, he claimed.
The governor has said he will look into how Oyetola managed the state's finances and debt.
Adeleke claims that Oyetola ran a N331,000,000,000 debt in the name of Osun State without investing any of that money in essential infrastructure upgrades.
After losing the election on July 16, he continued, Oyetola borrowed N18 billion and demanded an explanation from the former governor.
“Oyetola must also explain why Osun State is owing salaries and pensions to the tune of N76 billion after collecting an N50 billion salary bailout loan from the federal government,” he stated.
According to Adeleke, commercial banks and other creditors should explain why they extended loans to a government that has already served for four years.
However, in response, Oyetola stated that he did not take out any loans throughout his four years in office.
Through his media adviser Ismail Omipidan, the ex-governor criticised his successor for his claim, saying it demonstrated the latter’s inexperience with governing.
“Like every other state, we benefitted N3 billion every month for six months from the federal government as budget support. This money was given to all 36 states of the country without request. You cannot categorise that as a loan.
“So, the new governor does not understand the working of government, and he should have allowed those that understand the rudiment to explain it to him so that he won’t be coming to the public to embarrass himself the way he did.
“We also left N14 billion behind. They should tell the people how much they met in the state coffers,” Omipidan stated.