Did Dele Adeleke lie on Channels TV? By Adebayo Adedeji

“Osun had the highest Debt Per Capital in Nigeria in 2020.” was Dele Adeleke’s claim on Channels TV’s Politics Today on 10th January, 2022. Kindly watch the interview from 11.25 minutes to get Dele’s actual words.

However, a Fact-Check has contradicted the claim of the Osun Peoples Democratic Party gubernatorial ticket hopeful.

Fact-Check: Dele Adeleke lied about his claim of Osun, with N32,710 Debt per Capita, being the state with the highest Debt Per Capita in the country in 2020.

Available information on the websites of National Bureau of Statistics, Debt Management Office and BudgIT, indicate Osun State under Governor Oyetola has fared better than many states in debt management as it services its debt repayment regularly and has not accumulated additional debt since Oyetola’s assumption as governor.

Below shows the Debt Per Capita of States ranked worse than Osun in 2020:

1. Lagos – N73,136
2. Bayelsa – N65,695
3. Cross River – N54,425
4. Delta – N42,263
5. Edo – N39,694
6. Akwa Ibom – N39,648
7. Rivers – N36,291
8. Ekiti – N33,457
9. Taraba – N33,085.

One asks: What was Dele Adeleke’s intention for weaponising data against the State he is struggling and fantasising of governing?

What prompted Dele Adeleke to curate wilful misinformation against his land of birth?

Why should Dele be trusted with governance and government of Osun State when he has not conducted himself differently from other politicians who are known for telling lies for the purpose of having political leverage?

A social affairs commentator, nay a political leader, is respected not only because of the elevation of his language and enchantement of his scholarship, but respected because of the sanctity and integrity of his data and relevance of the context in which the data is deployed. When these conditions are not met, the commentator’s or leader’s credentials as a genuine and sincere interventionist are shaded and cast in doubts and eternal opprobrium.

Dele Adeleke should apologise to the entire people of Osun if truly his mendacious claim on Channels TV on 11/01/2022 was an innocent mistake. His “apology” will validate his readiness and avowal to be a truthful, sincere and different leader from the list. History beckons.