Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has called on critics of his administration to avail themselves of available facts about government programmes in order not to be perceived as serving the interest of opposition.
The governor who spoke through his spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed said his administration has deliberately filled the public space with its plans and intentions across the sectors, urging commentators to avail themselves of critical facts and figures instead of twisting and falsifying publicly verifiable details about state governance.
On rice distribution, Adeleke said it was handled by a non-governmental committee chaired by Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria and populated by representatives of various non-governmental groups.
“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.
“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 programmes like the 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.
On what Osun is doing with allocations to the state, Adeleke posited that government funds were being expended as governed by laws, saying 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.