N381bn Revenue, Little to Show: Osun’s 2025 Budget Report Exposes Governance Deficit

By Adebayo Adedeji
For the first time, one thing Governor Adeleke’s supporters and handlers appear to agree on is that the state’s 2025 Budget Implementation Report has exposed a huge competence gap in governance. I have seen their comments on several WhatsApp groups lamenting the poor implementation record. The hitherto attack dogs and noisemakers have toned down their rhetoric. In all honesty, they cannot defend the huge revenue that accrued to the state vis-à-vis what it was eventually used for.

They cannot rationalize the reality that the state generated N381 billion in 2025 and yet nothing substantial was invested in genuine development projects or in improving the wellbeing of the people.

Out of this revenue, N245 billion came from federal allocation, N17 billion from federal government grants and capital receipts, while N58.7 billion was generated through Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

Yet, despite these enormous resources, only N56 billion was spent on salaries and N5 billion on the payment of half-salary arrears owed by the Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola administration. Yes, the state spent merely N5 billion on half-salary payments despite all the noise and hype surrounding the issue. No money was allocated to offset gratuity arrears, even though the government promised last year to spend N6 billion for that purpose. There was no housing loan scheme and no car loan for civil servants. Meanwhile, the governor spent an astonishing N9.8 billion on travel and transportation. The government also spent public funds on purchasing vehicles for politicians and a host of largely unproductive aides of the governor.

While huge public funds were deployed to rehabilitate the governor’s “stomach infrastructure”, critical infrastructure in schools, hospitals, and health centres suffered neglect. Only N382 million was spent on the construction and rehabilitation of hospitals and health centres.

While the government struggled to fund the completion of the Osogbo City Stadium (which sports analysts claim requires only about N9 billion for completion) with a paltry N1 billion allocation, it committed N24 billion to the controversial airport project in Ede.

The airport project has generated widespread public criticism, with many questioning the decision to award a N99.5 billion airport contract to an interior decorator.

It is equally questionable that the government continues to spend such huge sums on what many consider an elitist project with little or no direct impact on the generality of the people, while only a meagre N528 million was spent on agricultural capital projects.

The people of Osun State must demand accountability from the Ademola Adeleke administration for the revenues received by the state. There has been no procurement of modern buses in almost four years, despite the federal government providing N2 billion to the state for that purpose in 2023. There has been no procurement of bicycles, let alone Hilux vehicles, for security agencies. There has been no recruitment of teachers or health workers, even though the governor, upon assuming office in 2022, disengaged 1,500 teachers and over 500 health workers.

The next write-up will focus on how the Osun State Government awarded multi-billion-naira road projects in Ila to a clearing and forwarding agent; road projects in Iwo to fashion designers and generator suppliers; and the construction of two flyovers in Osogbo to Acumen Forte Limited, a company owned by the Deputy Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, and Askorj Nigeria Limited, an estate agency firm. I will also examine the award of the Osun River Bridge project to Raregeode Limited, a fertilizer distribution company also owned by the Deputy Speaker.

• ADEDEJI, a media practitioner, is Secretary Media and Publicity Committee as well as Team Lead Digital Media Committee, Osun APC Governorship Campaign Council