Osun ex-governor, Oyetola, left N76bn debt — Adeleke

The Osun State government has said that the immediate past administration left a debt portfolio of N76bn in unpaid salaries, pensions and insurance commitments.

A statement signed by the spokesperson to the governor, Olawale Rasheed, obtained in Osogbo on Thursday, said the figure was given by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Mrs. Bimpe Ogunlumade, while briefing officials of the new administration on the financial status of the state.

“The breakdown of the salaries and pension-related liabilities as disclosed by the Permanent Secretary are as follows:

“(I) Salary: N29,875,191,128.64; (II) Pension Arrears: N45,375,237,693.40; (III) Group Life Assurance Scheme: N554,644,028.97. Total: N75,805,072,851.01,” the statement reads in part.

It further said the disclosure was contrary to the claim by the ex-governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, that he left a sum of N14bn in cash for the new government.

The state government stated that the figure was not the total debt left by the past administration, as briefings on other sources of liabilities had not been completed.

NewsWireNGR reports that in his farewell message, Oyetola had stated that his administration paid N97 billion of the debt it inherited in 2018, when he assumed office.

Oyetola declared that his administration did not borrow any money from anywhere to finance the state’s economy, stressing that he kept faith and maintained fidelity with his electoral promises throughout his tenure.

“We are leaving behind cash balance of more than N14 billion.

“In addition to the N14 billion cash, another N8 billion is being expected between December and January 2023 from our performance in States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability programme (SFTAS) and from Internally Generated Revenue.

SFTAS is a government programme designed to advance fiscal transparency, accountability and sustainability of states of the federation.

“For four years, we did not take any bank loan.

“We benefitted from the N3 billion monthly interventions by the Federal Government to all the states for six months to cushion the effect of deductions of budget support facility and salary bailouts taken by the previous administration.

“We paid N97 billion from the total debt we inherited in 2018,’’ he stated.

Meanwhile, the state governor, Ademola Adeleke has ordered the submission of salary schedule to relevant office within the next 24 hours.

A statement by his spokesperson, Rasheed, stated that Adeleke issued the directive after taking briefing from the State Ministry of Finance.

“Top officials of the ministry had attributed the delay in salary payment to the failure of some agencies to submit their salary schedule on time.

“Governor Adeleke consequently directed immediate conclusion of the processes, affirming that his administration is averse to inconveniences the delay has forced on the state workforce,” the statement concluded.