N18b Loan: Aregbesola Tackles Adeleke, Says His Administration Cleared Osun’s Debt Before Leaving Office

Rauf Aregbesola, the former governor of Osun State, claimed on Saturday that his administration had no debt when he left office in 2018.

Aregbesola, who is currently the interior minister, responded to the assertion attributed to Bola Oyebamiji, the former commissioner for finance during the tenure of the governor-elect Gboyega Oyetola.

Aregbesola claimed in a statement released on Saturday by his media assistant, Mr. Sola Fasure, that the two significant debts he took out while in government have been repaid.

He added that, “They were the Sukkuk loans and the other was long-term concessionary facility by the Federal Government which have a long span repayment term.

“The deductions are minimal and they are not deductions that will infringe on the finances of the state.

The minister responded to the contentious N18 billion loan that the Oyetola-led administration had collected by saying, “I will propose that they look at all the loans and get to the Accountant-General of the state at Abere. Because the Accountant-General raised a memo in response to Governor Adeleke’s inquiry, I believe they would have more information than the Permanent Secretary (Finance).

“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.”

READ ALSO: My Administration Inherited N407bn Debt, Ex-Gov Took N18bn Loan – Adeleke Reveals

Aregbesola continued by stating that the situation is between the Adeleke and Oyetola administrations because his obligations have been settled.

“I was not the one that took the N18 billion loan that was taken after the election. Oyetola took some other loans, including salary support from the Federal Government,” he added.

The minister insisted that they created the issue for themselves, adding that there would have been a seamless transition of power if Oyetola had established a transition committee and worked closely with the new governor after losing the election.

“They would have compared notes and there would be no rancour. But he (Oyetola) 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 N18 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.

However, Aregbesola pleaded with both Adeleke and Oyetola to keep him out of their issues because of the three loans he accepted, of which two have been repaid.