Rauf Aregbesola, minister of interior and former governor of Osun State, has blamed his successor, Adegboyega Oyetola for the debt profile of the state announced by incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke.
Adeleke had during a meeting with traditional rulers in the state, claimed that Osun State owed N407.32 billion, just as he accused Oyetola’s administration of incurring the humongous debt. But Oyetola, in a statement by Ismail Omipidan, his media aide, denied the allegation, saying Aregbesola’s administration obtained the loans.
Aregbesola, in a statement by his media aide, Sola Fasure on Saturday, argued that Oyetola caused the problem for himself because he allegedly refused to cooperate with Governor Adeleke for proper hand-over.
He said the accountant-general of the state should be in a better position to give the true position of the indebtedness of the state, adding that the impasse was between Adeleke and Oyetola, and so he (Aregbesola) should not be brought into the picture.
He explained that the two major loans he took had been liquidated while the other ones are long-term concessional facilities by the Federal Government with minimal monthly deductions.
“I will suggest that you look at all the loans and get to the accountant-general of the state at Abere. I think the accountant-general or the permanent secretary (finance) would have better information because it is the accountant-general that raised a memo based on the query of the governor.
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“The matter is between the Adeleke and Oyetola administrations because the Aregbesola debts have been liquidated. It was not Aregbesola that took the N18 billion loan that was taken after the election. Oyetola took some other loans, including salary support from the Federal Government.
“They caused the problem for themselves. If they had set up a transition committee and if they had cooperated well with the incoming governor after they had lost the election, there would have been a smooth change of government.
“They would have compared notes and there would be no rancour. But he was busy sowing mines on the path of the incoming governor, creating problems for him, and spending money with reckless abandon. What did he do with N18 billion? Now the new government is fighting back. If the new government takes the matter up to the EFCC, there would be problems for the Oyetola administration.
“They should count Aregbesola out of their problems because out of the three loans he took, two have been liquidated. It is only the long-term debt that is remaining and only the Accountant-General can give us the status of the loan because it is no longer what it was because deductions are being made”, Aregbesola said.
