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Count me out of you debt wahala, Aregbesola tells Oyetola, Adeleke

Published

1 year ago

December 18, 2022

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A former governor of Osun State , Rauf Aregbesola, has disassociated his administration from the raging state debt profile crisis.

Aregbesola on Saturday reacted to the statement credited to, Bola Oyebamiji, the former Commissioner for Finance under the administration of the immediate past governor Gboyega Oyetola.

According to the statement issued by Sola Fasure, his media spokesperson, Aregbesola said the two major loans he took while in office have been liquidated.

“They were the Sukkuk loans and the other was a long-term concessionary facility by the Federal Government which has a long span repayment term,” he said.

“The deductions are minimal and they are not deductions that will infringe on the finances of the state.”

While reacting to the controversial N18 billion loan collected by the Oyetola-led administration, the minister said, “I will suggest that they look at all the loans and get to the accountant-general of the state at Abere. I think the accountant-general or the permanent secretary (finance) would have better information because it is the accountant-general that raised a memo based on the query of Governor Ademola Adeleke.

READ Why Tribunal annuled Osun gov, Adeleke's election

“He is the most knowledgeable about the loans by the state as the custodian of the account of the state. They should count Aregbesola out of it.”

Speaking further, Aregbesola stressed that matter is between the Adeleke and Oyetola administrations because his debts have been liquidated.

“I was not the one that took the N18 billion loan that was taken after the election. Oyetola took some other loans, including salary support from the Federal Government,” he added.

The minister maintained that they caused the problem for themselves, adding that “If Oyetola had set up a transition committee and had cooperated well with the incoming governor after he lost the election, there would have been a smooth change of government.

“They would have compared notes and there would be no rancour. But he (Oyetola) was busy sowing mines on the path of the incoming governor, creating problems for him, and spending money with reckless abandon. What did he do with N18 billion? Now the new government is fighting back. If the new government takes the matter up to the EFCC, there would be problems for the Oyetola administration.

READ Tribunal sacks Adeleke as Osun governor, declares Oyetola winner of election

Aregbesola, however, beseeched both Adeleke and Oyetola to leave him out of their problems because out of the three loans he took, two have been liquidated.

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UPDATED: Tinubu appoints Jim Ovia as chairman of education loan fund

Published

7 hours ago

April 26, 2024

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President Bola Tinubu has appointed Jim Ovia as the chairman of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).

Ajuri Ngelale, presidential spokesperson, announced the appointment of Ovia, chairman of Zenith Bank, in a statement on Friday.

Ngelale said Tinubu believes that Ovia will bring his immense wealth of experience to ensure that no Nigerian student suffers a paucity of funds in the quest for tertiary education.

On April 3, Tinubu signed the student loans amendment bill into law to provide Nigerians with quality and accessible education.

The law will allow Nigerian students in tertiary institutions to access low-interest loans for tuition and other academic needs.

Subsequently, the president appointed Akintunde Sawyerr as the managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of the fund.

Tinubu also appointed Frederick Oluwafemi Akinfala as the executive director of finance and administration, while Mustapha Iyal will serve as the executive director of operations of NELFUND.

READ Unholy clash: Gov Adeleke, ex- Senate spokesperson clash over sitting arrangement at Osogbo Eid praying ground

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JUST IN: Tinubu appoints Jim Ovia as chairman of education loan fund

Published

9 hours ago

April 26, 2024

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President Bola Tinubu has appointed Jim Ovia as the chairman of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).

Ajuri Ngelale, presidential spokesperson, announced the appointment of Ovia, chairman of Zenith Bank, in a statement on Friday.

More to follow…

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ICPC detains TETFund boss ‘over questionable N7.6bn project’

Published

13 hours ago

April 26, 2024

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The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has detained Sonny Echono, executive secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).

Demola Bakare, ICPC spokesperson, confirmed the development on Friday.

Bakare said that Echono was invited by the anti-graft agency on Thursday.

“The executive secretary of TETFund is here with us. He has been invited for questioning. He is still in custody. He was invited yesterday.” Bakare said.

“He was invited on Thursday. He has not been released. He’s still with us. Investigation is still ongoing.”

It was earlier reported that TETfund awarded two contracts to Fides Et Ratio Academy and Pole Global Marketing (PGM) within two months at the cost of N3.8 billion respectively without the approval of the federal executive council (FEC), which is required for the contract size.

The contract was to provide capacity building course and learning management systems to about 2 million students across higher institutions in the country.

READ Oyetola betrayed me, Osun people will soon know my next political interest - Aregbesola

In a rejoinder, TETFund said it did not award N7.6 billion contracts to two companies without due process.

The agency said it was wrong to say they were contracts, whereas they were ICT projects implemented under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) which doesn’t require competitive bidding in public procurement.

TETFund further said its disbursement guidelines were approved by the president on the recommendation of the “Fund’s Board of Trustees and concurrence of the Honourable Minister of Education in line with the TETFund Act 2011″.

In an interview with TheCable, Echono said there was no form of irregularity in the N7.6 billion project.