‘Baseless, Malicious, Politically Motivated’ – Osun Govt Rejects Fraud Allegations

The Osun State Government has dismissed allegations of multi-billion naira infrastructure fraud and diversion of public funds levelled against some officials of Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration.

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Naija News reports that the government, in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, described the petition reportedly written by the Osun Youths Initiative for Good Governance (OYIGG) as baseless, malicious and politically motivated.

Alimi said the claims were designed to mislead the public and damage the reputation of government officials and private individuals linked to the governor.

The petition had reportedly accused the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Kazeem Akinleye, and the Accountant-General of the State, Rasheed Olalere Alabi, of diverting funds received from the Federal Government without legislative approval.

But the government denied the allegation, insisting that no public funds were diverted.

The statement read, “Let it be stated in the clearest possible terms that the allegations of ‘multi-billion naira infrastructure fraud,’ ‘mismanagement of public funds,’ ‘impropriety in project execution,’ and the laughable claim of ‘diverting sundry monies received by the State from the Federal Government without legislative approval’ are baseless, spurious, malicious, unfounded and entirely lacking in substance.”

Alimi said the attempt to link the Chief of Staff to alleged diversion of public funds was misleading.

He noted that the office was neither the custodian of the state treasury nor the statutory authority for public disbursement.

The statement added, “At no time has the Chief of Staff to the Governor, who is not the custodian of state treasury nor the statutory authorising authority for public disbursement, diverted any public funds, whether directly or by proxy.”

The government also defended the Accountant-General, saying he operates within financial regulations, appropriation laws, treasury circulars and due authorisation procedures.

The state government maintained that the Adeleke administration had remained committed to transparency, accountability, due process and prudent financial management.

It said Osun had performed well in independent fiscal accountability assessments, including the BudgIT Fiscal Transparency League Table.

According to the statement, Osun State earned a 100 per cent score in the fourth quarter assessment, placing it among top-performing states in fiscal transparency and public accountability.

The government also condemned the reported inclusion of Deji Adeleke and Dupe Adeleke-Sanni in the petition.

Alimi said both individuals were not officials of the Osun State Government and had no role in the administration, custody or disbursement of public funds.

He said, “Their gratuitous inclusion in the said petition is therefore not only reckless and irresponsible, but also clearly defamatory, malicious and actionable in law.”

The government urged members of the public, media organisations and relevant institutions to disregard the petition, describing it as a politically motivated attempt to distract the administration.

It added that no smear campaign would derail its commitment to infrastructure renewal, transparent governance and people-focused development.