Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has denied taking secret foreign loans since assuming office, describing claims that he borrowed secretly as fake news.
This was contained in a statement signed by the spokesperson for the governor, Olawale Rasheed, and obtained by PUNCH in Osogbo on Tuesday.
The governor’s response followed a recent publication of the state’s external debt stock by the Debt Management Office, which showed an increase of approximately $26.56m between December 2024 and June 2026.
“The DMO’s external debt stock report as of June 30, 2026, puts Osun State’s total external debt at $101.70m, compared with $75.14m recorded as of December 31, 2024. The difference represents an increase of approximately $26.56m within 18 months.
“A breakdown of the DMO figures shows that the state’s multilateral debt increased from approximately 94.15m in June 2026. Its bilateral debt also recorded a marginal increase, moving from approximately 7.55m within the same period,” the statement read.
Clarifying the details of the debt profile, Adeleke said the DMO reflected the $25.8m external loan taken by the previous administration for the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project.
Adeleke said, “The loan repayment had matured by December 2025, hence its inclusion by DMO in its report.”
The governor further submitted that there are four similar external loans by the previous administration which have matured for repayment and which may soon be reflected in the state’s external debt stock.
“The above clarification is necessary to set the records straight. If at all, our administration is to take loans for any reason, it will be open to the public with utmost transparency and compliance with due process,” he said.
He also noted that his administration had not taken any external loan as part of its strategy for sustainably managing state resources.
He chided those accusing the state government of secretly taking foreign loans, describing them as ignorant of the statutory procedures for applying for and accessing foreign loans.
Credit: punchng.com
