NEWS
How I Manage Osun Palliatives, Resources – Gov Adeleke
Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke has shed light on his management of state resources including palliative measures initiated by his administration and those supported by the Federal Government.
Spokesperson to Gov Adeleke, Olawale Rasheed urged commentators to always avail themselves of publicly available facts about government’s programs so as not to be perceived as serving opposition interest.
He maintained that the administration had deliberately filled the public space with its plans and intentions across the sectors. The Governor has embraced openness and transparency. Our commentators should avail themselves of critical facts and figures instead of twisting and falsifying publicly verifiable details about state governance.
On palliative distribution in Osun State, we urge the civil society to always engage in thorough field review before taking positions especially as most of the questions raised could have been answered either through desk research or direct freedom of information requests to the relevant government agencies.
According to him, rice distribution was handled by a non-governmental committee chaired by Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and populated by representatives of various non-governmental groups.
The inauguration of the committee and its activities were widely covered by the media, he noted.
As for the N2 Billion palliative expenditure, ‘we urge the group to officially contact the government if it has legal fulfillment to do so within the framework of the Freedom of Information Act especially as the group has shown mischief and refusal to accept details severally released by the government on the administration of palliative measures in the state.’
He added that ‘Ongoing in Osun are multiple government programmes which have at its core palliative interventions such as the wage awards for pensioners and workers that is going to run for six months, sustenance of payment of half salary and pension debt inherited from previous government, the three billion naira plus cooperative loans for artisans and small businesses, the soft medical programs like free medical surgeries for pensioners, expansion of free grants to the poor of the poor in Osun state, and expected delivery of new buses to widen transport access, and affordability.
‘In the interest of educated discourse, it may interest the group to note that Osun is spending far above the said two billion naira which is a loan to states and which the Federal Government has even asked the state governments to start refunding.’
According to him, it was also false to assert that the Gov Adeleke added N2 billion to the N100 billion infrastructure fund as the state has spent far above the N2 billion in service of the needs and aspirations of her people in this hard time.
As a responsible government, the state project account has not in any way stopped the state government from implementing many laudable palliative programs listed above.
As to what Osun is doing with allocations to the state, we hasten to remind the group that there is an elected government in place with a mandate to govern and deliver on good governance within statutory structures and platforms and with appropriation laws to which all are bound, he stated.
The spokesperson pointed out that how government funds are being disposed of and expended are governed by laws and the group can reach the public account committee of the House of Assembly for the annual public account report or take hold of the 2024 budgetary act to read how state funds are allocated across sectors and projects.
Without ascribing bias, we further educate the group to at least read of the state Governor’s plan on food security which he has presented at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and for which he has impaneled a committee chaired by the Commissioner for Agriculture.
To whoever may be ignorant of publicly available reports on state plans on food security, the agenda covers farm security, strategies for expansion of food production, unclogging farm transportation logistics, easing food access at affordable prices, and hosting a back-to-farm event with government incentives.
On the issue of court closure, the facts are out as the implementation of the tripartite agreement for the resolution of the dispute depends on the Chief Judge calling a meeting of the State Judicial Service Commission especially as the Governor has ordered the implementation of areas that affected the executive arm in the agreement, he asserted.
He opined that why the group is blaming the Governor for failure to summon a meeting of the Judicial Service Commission beats all imagination.
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has criticized the federal government’s plan to secure an additional N1.7 trillion loan through Eurobonds to cover a shortfall in the 2024 budget, describing the borrowing as unsustainable and harmful to Nigeria’s economy.
In a statement shared on Thursday via his X (formerly Twitter) handle, Atiku accused the Bola Tinubu-led administration of burdening Nigerians with debt while failing to provide clear answers about the country’s fiscal challenges.
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He also faulted the National Assembly for enabling what he called a “voracious appetite” for loans.
The former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate expressed alarm over a recent World Bank report ranking Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), calling the development troubling.
“The recent report released by the World Bank, showing Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), is very concerning,” Atiku stated.
He raised further concerns about the government’s decision to benchmark the proposed loan at an exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s official rate being over N1,600.
“What makes this particular loan proposal even more concerning is that it is benchmarked at the exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, whereas the current exchange rate from the Central Bank of Nigeria stands at over N1,600 to 1 USD,” he said.
Atiku questioned the need for additional borrowing, given the government’s earlier claims of record-high revenue collection.
“In July this year, Tinubu boasted that the FIRS and Customs under his watch had collected all-time high revenues to finance the budget. Why are they still borrowing?” he said
He accused the government of a lack of transparency, describing the borrowing spree as detrimental to Nigerians already struggling under economic hardship.
“There is something that they are not telling Nigerians, even as they are being crushed by a combination of their failed trial-and-error policies and loan rackets.”
Atiku also referenced a report by BudgIT, a budget monitoring group, which criticized the 2024 budget for its inefficiencies.
He alleged that corruption, rather than infrastructure or development needs, was driving the government’s borrowing decisions.
“These loans are powered by corruption and not for infrastructure and development needs. This voracious appetite for humongous loans is deeply concerning,” he said.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s financial history, Atiku lamented the return to significant foreign indebtedness just years after former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration cleared the country’s debt.
“It is agonizing to see that just a few years after the Obasanjo administration took us out of foreign indebtedness, we are today back at the top spot in the same conundrum,” he stated.
He called for a more cautious approach to borrowing, urging the government to prioritize fiscal responsibility and transparency to avoid worsening Nigeria’s economic challenges.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has taken a historic step, issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The charges include crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed during Israel’s recent assault on Gaza.
In a detailed statement, the ICC accused the Israeli leaders of “intentionally and knowingly depriving the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.”
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The ICC’s move marks a significant escalation in international scrutiny of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Netanyahu and Gallant are alleged to have orchestrated policies that caused severe harm to the civilian population in Gaza, leading to widespread condemnation from human rights organizations.
Alongside the charges against Israeli officials, the ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif. Deif has long been a central figure in Hamas’s military operations. Israel’s military claims to have killed him in a July airstrike, although this has not been independently verified.
The warrants highlight growing calls for accountability amid the ongoing conflict in the region. The ICC’s actions are likely to provoke heated debate and may complicate diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the crisis.
With the warrants issued, global attention now turns to how the international community will respond and whether any practical steps will be taken to enforce them.
Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State has inaugurated a 12-member committee tasked with recovering government vehicles reportedly in private hands.
The committee, led by Kelly Okungbowa, has been given a two-week mandate to retrieve the vehicles and ensure their return to the state government.
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Speaking during the inauguration ceremony in Benin City, Governor Okpebholo emphasized the importance of accountability in the management of public resources.
He urged the committee to carry out its assignment thoroughly and within the bounds of the law.
In his response, Okungbowa expressed gratitude to the governor for entrusting the team with the assignment, vowing to deliver results within the stipulated timeframe.
“A lot of vehicles used by the past administration are missing, as those in custody of the vehicles have refused to return them,” Okungbowa said.
“The governor deemed it fit to inaugurate us today with a mandate to recover all government vehicles in private hands.”
The committee, which includes representatives from Edo’s three senatorial districts, is set to investigate and recover the vehicles based on credible intelligence already at their disposal.
“We already have vital information regarding some persons still holding government vehicles,” Okungbowa stated. “We will do the job according to the law, and both the government and the people will be satisfied with the outcome.”
He also called on members of the public to assist the committee by providing information about any government vehicles that may still be in private possession.
“We want to appeal to members of the public who might be aware of anyone still keeping government vehicles in their houses to please inform us to enable the committee to recover such for the Edo State Government,” Okungbowa said.
The committee’s vice chairman, Rt. Hon. Victor Edoror, a former Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, will work alongside other members to ensure the success of the initiative. The public can reach the committee at 08110165121.
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