OGUN: Amosun’s finance commissioner tackles Abiodun, says he inherited N18.2bn

A former Commissioner for Finance in Ogun State under former Governor Ibikunle Amosun, Mr Adewale Oshinowo, has picked holes in claims by Governor Dapo Abiodun that he met an empty treasury, insisting that the Amosun-led administration left about N18.21 billion behind.

Oshinowo’s views were contained in a statement he made in Abeokuta on Monday, insisting that the claim by Abiodun that he met an empty treasury was far from the truth.

It would be recalled that the governor had said that he took a loan of N7bn to pay workers’ May salary, claiming that he met an empty treasury.

The former commissioner, however, said the Abiodun-led government inherited over N18.218bn, comprising N5.7bn from the Federation Account and N2.5bn from the Ministries Departments and Agencies.

He further claimed that the N10.6bn refund of Pay As You Earn due to Ogun State would have been paid to Abiodun in May 2019.

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“Contrary to the empty treasury slogan, the Dapo Abiodun-led government inherited over N18.218bn, comprising N5.735bn from the Federation Account and N2.483 billion from the Ministries Departments and Agencies.

“The N10.6bn refund for Pay As You Earn (PAYE) due to Ogun State, which the Amosun government had laboured for three years to obtain, and which was due to be paid in May 2019, should be part of the amount inherited by Dapo Abiodun.

“Therefore, the Amosun administration can assert that it effectively left N18.8bn in the coffers of Ogun State Government”, he said.

Oshinowo maintained that the governor had no justification for borrowing a dime from banks to pay May salary, adding that he would need to explain the motive behind the N7bn loan he claimed to have obtained on May 30, 2019.

“It is the usual practice that for such large sum of money to be borrowed from financial institutions, the Ogun State Executive Council must debate and ratify it, while the approval of the Ogun State House of Assembly must be obtained.

“At the national level, both the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Debt Management Office must also give written approval as part of the process for obtaining a loan.

“Clearly, none of these mandatory approvals were complied with,” he added.

Speaking further on the alleged discrepancies in the state monthly payroll, Oshinowo said: “In addition to the salary obligations of the civil service, the state also pays emoluments and allowances for the other two tiers of government; the entire public service, consisting various parastatals, agencies and other auxiliary workers.”

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