Opinion: How Governor Adeleke, Aides Lie Over N9b Subsidy Payment For Osun By Adebayo Adedeji
Osun state governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, has again been caught using his Tweeter handle to disseminate outright falsehood and misinformation to Nigerians just as many of his media aides have been caught in the similar lying web.
Recall that a Twitter influencer with handle @_chiefagbabiaka, in a tweet which has now generated over 148k views, had called out the dance-loving governor to provide information regarding the N9billion subsidy fund received by the state government from the Federal Government of Nigeria.
According to the netizen, the Osun citizens are keen to know how “the N7 billion special allocation, representing our share from the savings on fuel subsidy removal” and “the N2 billion Federal Government palliative meant for our state” are being utilised.
However, in a seemingly calculated attempt to manage the negative perception and comments the tweet visibly generated for the state governor, some officials of the state government, like Ibrahim Sarafa (Adeleke’s media aide) hurled verbal attacks on the said @_ chiefagbabiaka, describing his tweet as false.
In their defence, “the N7billion isn’t allocation, but refund for FG projects in the state, & would be used for infrastructures.”
However, a video, now in circulation, of Governor Adeleke’s address during his last week’s town-hall meeting with Osun citizens has put pay to the lies being circulated by his media aides.
In the video, the governor in clear terms confirms the state government received N7billion as its share from the fuel subsidy removal savings.
“Why did Governor Adeleke say one thing last week, and he and his aides are saying another today? Is that not evidence they are terribly troubled and can’t give sincere account of the N9billion received thus far, ” a sociology lecturer at a private university in the state, Dr Amos Oladoye, probed.
The university teacher went further, “The position being canvased by the state government officials is suspect. It’s to give an impression that the N7billion isn’t part of palliative to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal, therefore can be appropriated at a time fancied by the state government. This is not the intention of the FG that gave the money. The money is to solve the immediate problem of Osun people and the state government should use it for that purpose without further delay.”
Other citizens who spoke with this reporter shared similar opinion as Dr Oladoye’s.
They are afraid that the state government is still reluctant and dilly dallying on the fund when it has already been disbursed by virtually all the states which received it.
In the words of one of them, “In Benue, for example, the state government has already purchased 100 buses for the use of the people from the money. And it’s planning to give N50,000 to each of the market women to support their businesses. Here in Osun, nothing has been done. The story is still what the Government is planning to do with money received since August! It is disheartening. Is it true the fund has been diverted into personal pockets as alleged by the opposition party?
