Aregbesola, PDP disagree over Osun debt profile

Aregbesola, PDP disagree over Osun debt profile
JUNE 16, 2015 : FEMI MAKINDE, OSOGBO
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Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, has
disagreed with Senator Iyiola over the N480bn which
the later gave as the amount of money borrowed by the
present administration.
The governor, in a statement made available to our
correspondent in Osogbo on Tuesday by his media aide,
Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, described Omisore as ‘an
incorrigible liar’.
The governor said the statistics of the nation’s revenue
given by the Central Bank of Nigeria on Monday had
rubbished the claim of the former governorship
candidate of the PDP, who he described as his
traducers.
But the PDP in a statement also accused the governor
of telling lies to the people of the state by not coming
out to admit that the state was heavily indebted.
The Director of Media and Strategy of the PDP in Osun
State, Mr. Diran Odeyemi, said it was sad that the
governor gave two conflicting figures as the state’s
debt profile in the last two weeks.
He said, “For us, Omisore is not the issue as we are
more focused on getting the salary issue resolved and
put it behind us as fast as possible. However, it is
germane to note that traducers of the Aregbesola
administration in the ilk of Omisore should be told that
capitalising on the plight of the state and its workers
through fraudulent figures is not only self-serving, it is
also wicked and ungodly.
“Going by the CBN’s revelations on Monday as reported
by the Nigerian media on Tuesday, the Osun governor
has only been vindicated on his claims which explains
the reasons for the unavoidable delays in the payment
of salaries.
He said he raised the alarm and warned ahead of the
looming danger in July 2013 when he discovered that
the June allocation of that year was down by 40 per
cent.
“That 40 per cent downward journey of the revenue to
the states continued till June 2014 when it dropped
further to 60 per cent. Overall now, the revenue to the
states have now dipped by 60 per cent and that
accounts for the inability of the state to be able to
cope in augmenting any longer.
“Regardless of these figures, those who want to make
gains out of the plight of the state and the workers
would rather ignore the reality; paint wrong pictures in
order to get undeserved attention to boost their selfish
political ambitions. The figures Omisore and his cohorts
quote, do not add up enough to suggest that the
government had been reckless.”
However, the PDP insisted that the governor borrowed
more than N480bn which was the figure Omisore gave
in an interview with journalists on Monday.
The statement read in part, ” Aregbesola, during the
inauguration of Osun state House of Assembly,
Aregbesola, in an attempt to absolve self of blame over
non payment of salaries and pensions, put the debt
profile of the state from the loans to be N75bn.
“Ogbeni Aregbesola also told his audience that areas of
2014 salary of workers was N13bn while he admitted
that 2015 salary arrears was N16bn all totaling
N104bn.
“However, less than two weeks after, Aregbesola, in his
reaction through his media aide, while reacting to the
claims by Senator Iyiola Omisore, who had put the debt
portfolio of Osun at N480bn, said the state is owing
only N44bn. It will take several lies and cover ups to
cover a lie whereas truth is constant.
The opposition party urged the governor to say the
truth about the debt profile of the state, saying covering
up the truth was not the solution to the financial crisis
which the alleged recklessness of the governor had
plunged the state into.
The PDP said further, “We as a responsible party stand
by what Senator Omisore said that “The principal debt
of Osun state under Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola is N480bn
as he took N300bn Loan for the local government areas
after raising N60bn bond and later another N40bn apart
from all other loans for O’meal project, O’ school
uniform project. O’ airport project” O campaign project
and others.
“If Aregbesola is not lying, why giving two figures as
Osun debt within two weeks? What the governor needs
to understand is that ruling the state by telling lies will
not help him but further expose him as a man bereft of
solutions to the present economic woes.”