Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, has strongly denied media reports alleging that his administration spent ₦3.1 billion on foreign travel between January and June 2025.
In an official statement released on Monday by his spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, the governor described the claims as false, misleading, and deliberately distorted to misrepresent the state’s actual expenditure.
“₦3.1bn Covers Statewide Training — Not Personal Travel”
Governor Adeleke clarified that the reported sum was not earmarked for his personal trips, but instead covered a broad spectrum of training and capacity-building programs — both within Nigeria and abroad — carried out by over 100 ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) across the state government.
“Contrary to the misleading narrative, the amount cited represents a near full-year training budget for MDAs in Osun State,” the statement said.
These expenses reportedly include transportation, accommodation, feeding, and logistical support for commissioners, permanent secretaries, directors, agency heads, and staff of tertiary institutions. Many of the training sessions, according to the statement, were deliberately scheduled in the first half of the year to avoid interference from anticipated political activities in the latter half of 2025.
Governor Used Personal Jet to Save Costs
The administration further highlighted Adeleke’s efforts to minimize public expenditure, noting that the governor often uses a privately owned family jet for official assignments — including his recent trip to the United States — to avoid burdening the state’s treasury with high travel costs.
Describing the ₦3.1 billion claim as “mischievous and unfounded,” the governor’s office called on the public to disregard what it termed a politically motivated smear campaign.
“Governor Adeleke remains committed to transparency, responsible governance, and the prudent use of public funds,” Olawale Rasheed emphasized.
