THE Ogun State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Honourable Oladipupo Adebutu, has accused the Prince Dapo Abiodun-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration of plunging the state into “incurable debt.”
Adebutu spoke at the kickoff of the party’s campaign at the Ake palace ground in Abeokuta, the state capital, recently.
While reeling off his seven-point agenda for the development of the state, Adebutu said the Abiodun government incurred N86.21 billion debt within a year.
Adebutu said: “The domestic debt profile recorded by this administration has risen from N155.57bn in 2021 to N241.78bn by June 2022, representing a disheartening 55.4 per cent increase in debt.
“This government has continuously succeeded in enlisting Ogun State in the list of highest indebted states in the country.
“Under their administration, the state dropped to the 19th position on the 2021 Fiscal Performance Ranking from the third position in 2020.
“Contrary to the noise and hype that there was improvement in the Internally Generated Revenue of the state, the sharp slide from the third 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 said.
He listed security, local government autonomy, rural development, health care, education, agricultural and youth development as his top priorities if voted into power in 2023.
Responding, the state government, through Mr Kunle Somorim, who is the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Abiodun, said Adebutu was ill-informed and that the allegation was to mislead the public.
He said, “He is ill-informed and he is 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.”
