Aregbesola cannot focus on salary alone - APC chieftain says
- A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dotun Babayemi, has given the Aregbesola-led administration a pass mark despite debt owed by the state
- The APC bigwig said the debt owed by the state did not start during the administration of Aregbesola, noting that it has been accrued since 1991
- Babayemi said Osun state should be able to move beyond federal allocation and focus on agriculture
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and a key driver in design, development and implementation of electronic election monitoring platform for 2014 governorship election in Osun state, Dotun Babayemi, says the debt Osun owes has been accrued since 1991, Tribune reports.
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Legit.ng gathered that Babayemi said Osun state carried over debts from old Oyo state. He said some of the debts were still still being paid.
He said: "If you have an X amount of money and 80% of it is spent on salaries, it then makes it difficult to do all those other things you need to do. In the first term, the challenges of fall in oil prices and little money coming from federal allocation made government to run or operate on debt.
"Part of the debt that Osun owes today has been accrued since 1991. We carry over debt from old Oyo State; some of these debts are still being paid today. Government is a continuum and the debt that people are talking about did not start with Aregbesola administration. A lot of it was carried over."
He continued: "From my assessment, I will give this administration a significant pass mark. The focus of any government cannot only be for salaries you are going to pay today for the people working but also for the future."
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He said Osun state is an agrarian society that should be able to move forward beyond federal allocation, adding that to focus on agriculture, there ought to be good roads.
"Look at the proposed cargo airport, if we are able to supply West Africa, not only Nigeria, some of our products from here, it would go a significant extent in increasing our internal revenue generation.
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"So, part of the challenges that we have as citizens is being able to deal with issues associated with money. Some of the programmes that government has to do and focus on must be for the future so that the future of generation yet unborn is guaranteed.
"When the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo was constructing the Liberty Stadium, setting up the WNTV and offering free education, people called him a mad man. But today, we are all beneficiaries and grateful," Babayemi added.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun state said his administration had fulfilled many of the promises made to the people of the state while seeking election.
He asserted that his government had exhibited a genuine, sincere and exemplary leadership in all spheres of life as being manifested in the tremendous achievements recorded in the last seven years of his administration.
APC official tells why his party could be voted out in 2019 - on Legit.ng TV
Source: Legit.ng
