Rauf Aregbesola, blames his successor, Gboyega Oyetola, for the state’s huge indebtedness

The controversy surrounding the Osun State debt profile yesterday took a new twist as a former governor, Rauf Aregbesola, blamed his successor, Gboyega Oyetola, for the state’s huge indebtedness.

While reacting to the development though his media aide, Sola Fasure, Aregbesola, the incumbent Minister of Interior, said Oyetola’s administration would be in trouble should the government of Ademola Adeleke decide to drag him before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

He, however, explained what loans his administration took and those that had been liquidated.

Aregbesola said: “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.

“The Accountant-General, in reply to the query of the Governor, stated the condition of the loans and the loans that are outstanding. He is the most knowledgeable about the loans by the state as the custodian of the account of the state. They should count Aregbesola out of it.”

He added: “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 ?18 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,” he said.