Adeleke laments seizure of N100bn Osun LG funds, alleges sabotage by opposition

By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo –

Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has accused the opposition of blocking the release of over N100 billion belonging to the state’s local governments, describing it as a plot to frustrate his administration’s ongoing infrastructure projects.

Speaking during an inspection of the Lagere Flyover Bridge and other projects in Ile-Ife on Wednesday, Adeleke alleged that the opposition was deliberately withholding local government allocations to stop the completion of critical projects across the state.

He said, “Almost N100 billion of Osun fund is unjustly seized in a bid to stop the completion of the Ile-Ife flyover, Ilesa township dualisation, Iwo township road dualisation, Ila Orangun township dualisation, reconstruction of Iwo-Osogbo Road, and the Lameco flyover bridge, among others. The opposition has unfortunately chosen to play politics with the urgent need of our people to exit decades of underdevelopment.”

Adeleke, who expressed satisfaction with the pace of work at the Ile-Ife flyover, said his administration would continue to pursue its development agenda despite efforts by the opposition to stall progress.

He explained that the infrastructure upgrade in Ile-Ife, which includes road dualisation and rehabilitation of several internal roads, is part of a broader plan to transform the city into both an economic and tourism hub of the South-West.

The governor also criticised past administrations for allegedly abandoning several projects and diverting public funds into private pockets.

“Today, the Ile-Ife flyover with adjacent dualisation is nearing completion. We have shamed those who doubted our sincerity and ridiculed those who thought the fund was for diversion and self-enrichment as they had done in the past. We have broken the jinx by launching and realising this upgrading of our cultural capital,” he stated.

Adeleke warned contractors and officials handling ongoing projects to remain committed, stressing that his administration has broken the jinx of underdevelopment in Ile-Ife and other towns in the state. He vowed that the opposition’s plot to hinder Osun’s progress would not succeed.