Adeleke to Aregbesola: You left debt, pain, abandoned projects

Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, has responded to comments allegedly made by former Governor Rauf Aregbesola concerning the 2026 governorship election, accusing the former leader of mismanaging the state during his time in office.

In a statement issued on Monday by the governor’s spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, Adeleke dismissed Aregbesola’s reported threat to unseat him, describing the remark as a distraction from what he referred to as the former governor’s “unresolved legacy of maladministration.”

He said, “Osun people know their present and past Governors. Our people are smart enough to know that the worst era for Osun state is that of Mr Aregbesola under whom many pensioners lost their lives, thousands of lives were disrupted, and the state plunged into unsustainable debt that is still hurting the state till date. No voter in Osun is ready for a return to the dark days.

“We therefore dismiss Mr Aregbesola’s boast as a blurry vision of another world other than Osun where Governor Adeleke has received accolades and awards for delivering on good governance and where Osun people have appreciated the local content policy, the non-borrowing policy, and the people’s first style of the current governor.”

The governor alleged that Aregbesola left behind significant liabilities, including unpaid salaries, pension arrears, and incomplete infrastructure projects.

“The state is still grappling with the consequences of the policies and programmes executed during Mr Aregbesola’s eight-year rule,” the statement said.

According to Adeleke’s media aide, Aregbesola’s tenure was marked by “huge state debt, irregular payment of salaries, inflated and abandoned projects,” and other financial decisions that continue to strain the state’s resources.

Rasheed said the Adeleke administration has since paid 28 months of outstanding salaries and close to ₦60 billion in pension debt, both of which he attributed to obligations left by the previous administration.

He added that Osun’s debt burden had been reduced by 40 percent under Adeleke, citing data from the Debt Management Office.

The statement further outlined ongoing and completed projects under the current administration, including road construction, school and health facility rehabilitation, and the provision of free health insurance for over 30,000 pensioners.

It also highlighted infrastructure projects such as dual carriageways in Ilesa and flyovers in Ile Ife and Osogbo.

The governor’s office insisted that Adeleke’s government had not borrowed funds for these initiatives and accused Aregbesola of failing to complete similar projects during his term.

Reacting to Aregbesola’s criticism of Adeleke’s performance, Rasheed said, “If Mr Aregbesola is to accuse Governor Adeleke of non-performance, he should first explain his own failure to deliver on similar promises when he was in office.”

The statement further earned against what it called “political revisionism,” urging residents of the state to reflect on their experience during Aregbesola’s tenure.

It asserted that “2026 will be a time of reckoning” for political actors seeking a return to power after what the governor’s team described as a controversial legacy.

Source: The Guardian