A Civil Society group, The Osun Masterminds TOM, yesterday asked Osun State Governor, Adegboya Oyetola to investigate the financial records of immediate past governor Ogbeni
Rauf Aregbesola now minister of Interior over the poor financial status of the State.
It would be recalled that Osun State Government received a negative allocation of -375million from the FAAC in February 2022.
The group made this demand in Osogbo at its monthly State address, Executive Director, Dr. Wasiu Oyedokun-Alli said that several actions of the State Government under the Aregbesola administration were inspired by wastefulness and corruption.
Oyedokun-Alli said that several projects that were not of immediate benefit to the State were initiated with loans which he said ended up the state being unsustainable and are today constituting financial problems for the State.
He noted that the Government needs to conduct financial sustainability exercise that will look into the core areas of finances of the State.
According to Oyedokun-Alli, “In the month ended February 2022, Osun State Government received a negative allocation of -375million from the FAAC, out of a possible 1.45billion. The implication of this is that the State will be paying back an extra sum of 375million from next month’s allocations, plus the deductions already waiting in that month.
“While we understand that increasing figures of fuel subsidy has beaten down monthly allocations to various arms of government, the more worrisome implications of this to Osun State is the fact that as the Federation’s finances worsen, Osun will become more incapable of meeting its debt obligations, let alone have any money left to run the State.
“There is an even more disturbing possibility. Now that we have the sum of 375million to repay from March allocation, like makeup for the shortage in the deduction for February, shortages in deduction of this nature may continue to accumulate if the Federation’s finances do not improve. This means that monthly, Osun will continue to get allocation deficits that are higher in figure than the last. The worst, therefore, may not yet be seen.
“If the State proceeds in this manner, it will steadily progress into insolvency and eventually, total bankruptcy. This is not a point we hope to be in.
“We begin to recall now, the several white elephant endeavors that the Aregbesola government got itself into. The memories are fresh in the minds of every keen watch of the polity, but for posterity’s sake, we will quickly remind everyone of these legacies that we must as a matter of urgency, reverse and set Osun back on the growth path.
“It will be recalled that the Osun State Government, under Ogbeni Aregbesola claimed it expended over 8billion on Opon Imo for schools. The gadgets are today nowhere to be found, after gulping such humongous figures.
“Without a clear understanding of the usefulness and future benefits, the Aregbesola administration expended a whooping 248million on the construction of the Hassan Olajokun park in Gbongan. Less than a year after Ogbeni Aregbesola himself commissioned the park, it became home to reptiles and other wild animals, having been left unused and in a state of disrepair.
In March 2018, Ogbeni Aregbesola himself confessed that the concession arrangement for the construction of the MKO Abiola Airport had failed, after the State Government had spent 3.5billion on nonexistent groundworks that cannot be seen today.
“For years, the Osun State Government, under Ogbeni Aregbesola also expended over 1.2billion on the O’Callisthenics program that had neither economic benefits nor immediate gains for the education sector. In four years, Osun thus spent close to 5billion on a poorly thought-out project that it neither had the finances for nor could gain anything meaningful from,” he said
However, the group charged Governor Oyetola to boldly come out to explain to residents of the state about the government he inherited for the people to work together with him to get out of the quagmire easily.
“The present Government must seek all avenues to increase the State’s capacity for revenue generation, as a shock absorber for the heavy deductions that are now rendering the State broke. The Government can look into the areas of tourism and manufacturing.” he added
