A former Head of Service (Hos) in Osun state, Mr. Segun Akinwusi has expressed surprise over another revelation of a fresh loan of $692.3 (N117.69 billion) obtained by Osun State Government.
The fresh loan was said to have been applied for from Innerlex Financing Group, Cyprus on June 7, 2013 with a tenure of 10 years at a concessionary interest rate.
Before now, Governor Rauf Aregbesola had been accused of taken several loans running into about N400 billion from various commercial banks including the N17.8 billion from Bank of Infrastructure and a bond of N60 billion from the capital market.
Akinwusi noted that the current documents at the public domain of a foreign loan should be of a serious concern to all indigenes of Osun state both at home and abroad.
“We need not to keep quiet at this time. For now, this government has today spent money meant for future generation that will be born in the next 25 years. I raised the alarm last year that Osun’s government’s local debt was N350 billion and nobody can controvert this”.
More worrisome according to the SDP governorship aspirant who retired as Hos from Aregbesola’s government in 2012 was the listing of projects which had already been paid for with other loans and bonds as justifications for $692.3 million the fresh loan.
With the current exchange rate of N170 per dollar, Akinwusi explained that the fresh foreign loan amounts to N117.89 billion. “We are in a mess now and there is nothing on ground to justify this huge indebtedness by a government that has just spent over three years in office”.
In a letter requesting for the loan, which was signed by the State Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Wale Bolorunduro projects such as construction of Oshogbo township roads, construction of 310km road across the local government areas in the State, dualisation of Oshogbo -Dagbolu International Market -Ikirun Junction road and Ikirun – Ila Kwara Boundary road were listed to be financed with the loan.
Other projects include rehabilitation of Gbongan – Sekona – Akoda road, rehabilitation of Ijebu Jesa – Iloko – Iwaraja, Ijebu Ijesa – Ijeda – Iloko, Ilesha – Erinmo and Igbajo – Iresi roads.
Akinwusi described the fresh foreign loan as evil, uncalled for and an attempt to put the entire Osun state in jeopardy, while noting that the state is still paying a foreign debt for Ejigbo and Ilesa water schemes obtained in 1980 by late Chief Bola Ige’s administration in the old Oyo state.
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