Get Guardian on Google• Blames $26.56m rise on inherited RAAMP debt maturity
• NLC blasts FG over withheld Osun LG funds, backs striking workers
Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has denied taking foreign loans either secretly or openly since he took over governance in November 2022, describing any insinuation in that line as fake news.
He contended that the $25.8 million foreign loan, which was reflected in the recent Debt Management Office (DMO) publication, was obtained by the former administration in the state.
The governor was responding to the publication by the DMO, which showed an increase of approximately $26.56 million between December 2024 and June 2026.
Adeleke, while clarifying the details of the debt profile, in a statement yesterday by his Spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, stated that the DMO had reflected the sum of $25.8 million as an external loan taken by the previous administration for the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project.
The loan repayment process had matured by December 2025; hence its inclusion by DMO in its report, the state governor explained.
The governor further submitted that there are four similar external loans by the previous administration which have matured for repayment and which may soon be reflected in the state external debt stock.
Adeleke also noted that his administration had not taken any external loan as a strategy for sustainable financial management of the state resources, chiding those accusing the state government of secretly taking foreign loans as ignorant of statutory procedures for applying for and accessing foreign loans.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has condemned the continued withholding of Osun State local councils’ funds, declaring that the Federal Government is not above the law.
The labour union also expressed solidarity with the striking council workers in the state, urging the Federal Government to release the funds without further delay to enable the councils to discharge their statutory responsibilities.
The NLC said that the non-release of the funds had inflicted considerable damage on governance at the council level, with wider consequences for workers and affected communities.
In a statement signed by its Acting General Secretary, Benson Upah, the Congress described the continued withholding of the funds as unjustifiable and urged the authorities to respect court decisions.
The NLC further accused the Federal Government of selectively obeying court decisions, insisting that government authorities could not choose which judicial pronouncements to comply with.
