APM faults Adeleke on VAT, revenue performance; PDP responds
By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo –
The Osun State chapter of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has criticised Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration over what it described as poor fiscal performance, following the release of Q1 2025 Value Added Tax (VAT) figures by StatiSense.
In a statement signed by the party’s State Chairman, Hon. Adewale Adebayo, APM noted that Osun generated ₦5.95 billion—the lowest among South-West states—despite receiving ₦21.23 billion in federal allocation, compared to Ekiti’s ₦19.63 billion.
Adebayo highlighted that Lagos generated ₦819.62 billion and received ₦138.53 billion, stressing that the gap between Osun’s VAT contribution and its allocation points to a lack of productivity and innovation in the state’s economic governance.
“This revelation exposes the Adeleke administration’s overreliance on federal allocation while contributing the least to the central revenue pool,” Adebayo said. “It is disheartening that smaller states like Ekiti, Ogun, and Ondo outperformed Osun in VAT generation.”
He also demanded that the state government account for ₦135 billion in what he described as “excess revenue” not reflected in the 2024 budget.
Reacting, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun described the APM’s comments as “ignorant, mischievous, and economically unsound,” insisting that VAT growth requires years of structural planning and cannot be achieved overnight.
In a statement by its Director of Media and Publicity, Hezekiah Oladele Bamiji, the PDP said Adeleke inherited a collapsed economy from 12 years of APC rule and is working to rebuild it through SME support, digital entrepreneurship, and agricultural revitalisation.
“It is laughable for the APM to compare Osun with Lagos or Ogun, which have long-standing economic infrastructures, ports, and corporate presence developed over decades,” the PDP said.
