The Osun State Government, on Tuesday, dismissed as fake news opposition claims that Governor Ademola Adeleke had received and mismanaged N1 trillion in state allocations since assuming office in 2022, describing the allegation as a desperate attempt by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to discredit a widely-celebrated administration.

In a statement issued in Osogbo, Adeleke?s spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, said the APC?s claim was ?a devilish fabrication and mischievous propaganda? aimed at undermining public trust in a government he said had shown transparency and fiscal discipline.

?The opposition statement is fake news from a party that has run out of ideas,? Rasheed said. ?Governor Adeleke has not received anything near one trillion naira since 2022. Every kobo has been judiciously spent to meet the critical needs of Osun people.?

The controversy followed a press release from the Osun APC leadership alleging that Adeleke?s administration had received over N1 trillion in federal allocations and grants in less than three years, with little to show for it.

The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led government countered that its financial records were open and verifiable, insisting that the state?s allocation within the period was far below the figure circulated by the opposition.

Rasheed said the Adeleke administration had channelled resources into key development priorities, including health, education, infrastructure, workers? welfare, and pension reforms.

He listed the construction and rehabilitation of 322 kilometres of roads across the state, the renovation of over 200 primary health centres, and the upgrading of 100 public schools as part of visible accomplishments.

He also cited the dualization of major township roads, the rehabilitation of waterworks, and new investments in grassroots development and sports infrastructure, including the ongoing transformation of the Osogbo Township Stadium into what he described as a five-star facility.

?Only an anti-people party will claim not to see these achievements,? Rasheed said.

?This is the same APC that left behind unpaid workers? salaries, abandoned pensioners, and decaying infrastructure. Governor Adeleke is reversing that legacy of neglect.?

He added that the administration had paid significant portions of the backlog of half-salaries owed civil servants, settled longstanding pension arrears, and enrolled more than 30,000 retirees into the state?s health insurance scheme a policy he said had since been replicated by the Federal Government.

The Osun APC?s statement adds to a growing war of words between the two parties as the state edges towards the 2026 governorship election.

The APC, which lost power to Adeleke?s PDP in 2022, has accused the governor of populist spending and lack of fiscal accountability, while the state government has maintained that its finances are managed transparently under the Treasury Single Account system.

Adeleke, who recently marked his second year in office, has earned praise from local civic groups for expanding access to social welfare programmes and prioritising workers? pay.

However, political observers note that the state remains heavily indebted, with over N400 billion in outstanding liabilities, a burden inherited from previous administrations.

The governor has repeatedly promised to grow Osun?s internally generated revenue and reduce dependence on federal allocations, launching digital tax reforms and small business support initiatives under the Osun Economic Revitalisation Plan. (The Guardian)

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