Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, and the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state, Ladi Adebutu, traded words on Friday over the alleged N86.21bn government’s debt within a year.
While Adebutu said the domestic debt of the state increased by 55.4 percent between 2021 and 2022, Abiodun kicked, describing him as ill-informed.
Adebutu accused Abiodun of incurring N86.21bn in a year while addressing supporters and members of the PDP in the state during the official flag off of his campaign in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
According to Adebutu, the domestic debt profile of the state rose from N155.57 billion in 2021 to N241.78 billion by June 2022.
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Adebutu said, “The domestic debt profile as recorded by this administration again rose from N155.57bn in 2021 to N241.78bn by June 2022, representing a disheartening 55.4% increase in debt.”
“This government has continuously succeeded in enlisting Ogun State in the list of the highest-indebted states in the country.”
“Under their administration, the state dropped to the 19th position on the 2021 Fiscal Performance Ranking from the 3rd position in 2020, contrary to their fake noise and hype that there was improvement in the internally generated revenue of the state, the sharp slide from the 3rd position to the 19th position within 10 months of review was as a result of the decline in the IGR of the state by about 28.44 per cent. In correct perspective, the IGR dropped with about N20.17bn within a period of 11 months”.
Adebutu appealed to the people of the state to reject the APC and its candidates at the polls, saying the PDP was committed to delivering the state from the “shackles” of the APC.
Reacting, the governor, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Kunle Somorin, denied the claim.
He said, “He (Adebutu) is ill-informed, and he’s merely raking mud and contriving the allegation to call attention to himself, mislead the public, and malign a focused, accountable, responsive, and responsible promise-keeping administration.
“Governor Abiodun does not engage in frivolous borrowing like Adebutu’s hallucinatory mind conjured.”
