Mallam Olawale Rasheed, the spokesperson for Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State, has said that the Debt Management Office (DMO) data has vindicated the Adeleke-led administration on the state’s debt profile.
He added that contrary to the falsehood published by specific online news platforms and amplified by the All Progressives Congress (APC), according to the DMO, State External Debt has been reduced by 15 per cent, while Domestic Debt has been reduced by 42 per cent.
Rasheed, in a statement issued on Sunday, said that Osun’s Domestic debt was N148.37 billion as of December 2022 but reduced to N86.06 billion as of June 2024, while its foreign debt was $91.78 million as of December 2022 but reduced to $78.17 million as of June 2024.
He said, “The truth remains that Osun State’s Debt profile has reduced under the leadership of Governor Ademola Adeleke in the last two years. Data doesn’t lie and cannot be hidden.
“The Domestic debt of Osun was N148.37 billion as of December 2022, but it has now reduced to N86.06 billion as of June 2024. In the same manner, Foreign Debt as of December 2022 was $91.78 million, but it has now reduced to $78.17 million as of June 2024.
“What that means is that Osun’s domestic debt was reduced by 42 per cent, and external debt was reduced by 15 per cent within two years of our administration.
“What this also means in terms of figures is that Governor Adeleke has paid back N62.31 billion in domestic debt and paid off $13.61 million in foreign debt. This is the burden the APC-led past administration imposed on the state’s people. If this administration had not inherited those debts, these amounts would have been better used for the good people of Osun state.
Rasheed reiterated Governor Adeleke’s commitment to the welfare of the people and insisted that despite his numerous achievements, his administration has not taken any loans two years into his first tenure of office.
