Governor Ademola Adeleke has denied allegations of infrastructure fraud and diversion of public funds involving officials of his administration.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment Kolapo Alimi, the state government said the claims were false and should be disregarded.
The allegations were said to be contained in a petition by the Osun Youths Initiative for Good Governance, which accused the Chief of Staff to the governor Kazeem Akinleye and the Accountant-General Rasheed Alabi of diverting funds received from the Federal Government without legislative approval.
The government denied the claims.
“Let it be stated in clear terms that the allegations of infrastructure fraud, mismanagement of public funds, impropriety in project execution and the claim of diverting funds received by the state from the Federal Government without legislative approval are not true and have no substance,” the statement said.
Mr Alimi said the attempt to link the Chief of Staff to the alleged diversion of funds was incorrect, noting that the office is not responsible for the state treasury or public disbursement.
“At no time has the Chief of Staff to the Governor, who is not the custodian of state treasury nor the statutory authorising authority for public disbursement, diverted any public funds, whether directly or by proxy,” he said.
The government also said the Accountant-General operates within financial regulations, appropriation laws, treasury guidelines and due authorisation procedures.
It added that the administration follows rules on transparency and accountability and has been assessed in fiscal reporting.
According to the statement, Osun State recorded a full score in a recent quarterly review by the BudgIT Fiscal Transparency League Table.
The government also rejected the inclusion of Deji Adeleke and Dupe Adeleke-Sanni in the petition, stating that they are not officials of the state government and have no role in managing or disbursing public funds.
“Their inclusion in the petition is unwarranted and defamatory,” the statement added.
The government urged the public and media organisations to disregard the petition, stating that it would continue its programmes on infrastructure and governance.
