The Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has declared that he has not received a dime as salary since he became governor in 2010, disclosing that Permanent Secretaries in the state earned more than his Deputy.
He said the modulated salary system for the civil servants also affected political appointees, ascribing it to “economic emergency”.
Aregbesola, who was fielding questions from journalists and members of the public at an interactive programme tagged: “Ogbeni Till Daybreak” over the weekend said his administration means well for workers.
When asked about the debt profile of the state, he called on the Accountant-General of the state, Mr Kolawole Akintayo to give the exact details of the state’s debt.
Akintayo, in his presentation, explained that the debt profile of the state stands at N143.6bn at present. He said a certain amount out of the conventional loans has been settled.
He said, “Total debt of the State was N171.4bn in the last seven years. A sum of N28bn had been paid, leaving a balance of N143.6bn debt.”
Aregbesola further explained that all the conventional debt would be settled in 2019, while the N11.4bn Sukuk bond would be settled in 2020.
He stressed that loans were secured specifically to finance different developmental projects in the state.
“The reason we borrowed for infrastructural development and not for investment is simple. In a liberal economy like ours, government has no business doing business, the responsibility of government is to provide enabling environment for businesses to thrive,” the governor said.
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