Ogun Governor denies using council funds to service state’s debt

Mrs Kemi Adeosun, Ogun Commissioner for Finance, on Wednesday, denied that the state government was using local government funds to service its debts. Adeosun made this known in Abeokuta while fielding questions from the Ogun Assembly members on the N19 billion loan request before the House.

She said that the Ogun State government had never touched any local government money, stressing that such act was illegal and the state would never do such.


The commissioner said that not less than N500 million was being spent by the administration to assist the local governments. The commissioner said the state government owed N35.6 billion debt as at Dec. 31. She said the government had embarked on aggressive sustainability repayment system to service the debt.

Adeosun said that residents, especially those in boarder areas, were now willing to pay their taxes due to the massive road construction going on across the state. The commissioner also told the lawmakers that the state was not financing the on-going construction of model schools across the state through loans.

On ecological fund, she said the state had only collected N300 million from the Federal Ggovernment. She said the state still had issues with the Federal Government on why some states received billions of naira on disaster that ought to be prevented. Mr Lekan Adegbite, Ogun Commissioner for Works, said that N19 billion would be spent on different development projects across the state.

Adigbite said that the areas not covered by the mega-road projects would enjoy at least two roads per local council areas. He said economic importance and fund limitation were part of the requirements for the on-going mega-road construction.

Mr Suraj Adekunbi, the Speaker, commended the commissioners for furnishing the House with vital information that would move the state forward. Adekunbi said that the purpose of the interactive session was not to witch-hunt anybody, but to continue to work together as a team for the benefit of the citizenry.

He said the invitation of the commissioners was to put things in the right perspectives in respect of Gov. Ibikunle Amosun’s request.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Ogun House of Assembly, had on Tuesday, invited the two commissioners to appear before the Committee of the Whole House. (NAN)