The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has accussed the Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke of a plan to secure a N300 billion loan using the state’s 30 local government council areas as collateral.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Osun State APC Chairman Tajudeen Lawal alleged that the Governor and his inner cabinet recently met with local government career officers and PDP-aligned council chairmen at the State Secretariat to disclose this intention.
According to the APC, the scheme would involve each local government being used to back N10 billion in debt from Unity Bank Plc, a move Lawal described as an unpatriotic burden on the people and a violation of recent Supreme Court rulings regarding local government autonomy.
The APC further cautioned the management of Unity Bank Plc to steer clear of the transaction, asserting that any agreement signed with current PDP council chairmen would be a legal nullity.
The party maintains that the only recognized local government executives in the state are the APC chairmen previously reinstated by the Court of Appeal.
Lawal argued that the proposed borrowing directly contravenes the Debt Management Office Act of 2003, which requires specific federal approvals and the signatures of legitimate local government executive councils officials the APC claims the Governor is currently bypassing.
Reacting, the Osun State Governor’s office denied the existence of any such loan plan with Unity Bank, characterizing the allegations as a diversionary tactic.
The Governor’s Spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed mocked the APC, claiming the opposition party is actually attempting to hide from its own criminal trial involving the alleged mishandling and hijacking of over N250 billion in local government funds.
The Spokesperson asserted that the current administration is focused on rectifying the fiscal and social mess inherited from previous APC leadership and will not be distracted by what it termed impostors attempting to inflict further hardship on the state’s grassroots.
