Adeleke denies taking foreign loans, blames $25.8m debt on predecessor

Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has attributed the increase in the state’s external debt to loans obtained by previous administrations, insisting that his government has not borrowed from foreign lenders since assuming office in November 2022.
Adeleke said the $25.8m facility reflected in the latest Debt Management Office report was secured by a former administration for the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project.

The governor’s position followed the DMO’s external debt stock report as of June 30, 2026, which put Osun’s foreign debt at $101.70m, up from $75.14m as of December 31, 2024.
The figures represent an increase of approximately $26.56m over 18 months.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, Adeleke dismissed reports that his administration had secretly or openly accessed foreign loans.

He explained that the $25.8m facility was inherited from the previous government and had entered the repayment stage in December 2025, prompting its inclusion in the DMO’s debt records.
“The DMO had reflected the sum of $25.8 million dollars external loan taken by the previous administration for the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project,” the statement quoted Adeleke as saying.
“The loan repayment process had matured by December 2025, hence its inclusion by DMO in its report.”

The governor further disclosed that four other foreign loans obtained by the previous administration had matured for repayment and could soon be reflected in the state’s external debt stock.
A breakdown of the DMO figures showed that Osun’s multilateral debt rose from approximately $67.60m in December 2024 to $94.15m in June 2026.

The state’s bilateral debt also increased marginally from about $7.54m to $7.55m within the same period.
Adeleke maintained that his administration had avoided external borrowing as part of its approach to managing the state’s finances.
He also criticised those accusing his government of secretly obtaining foreign loans, describing such claims as evidence of a lack of understanding of the statutory procedures for securing external facilities.

The governor said any decision by his administration to obtain loans would be made public and subjected to due process.
“If at all our administration is to take loans for any reason, it will be open to the public with utmost transparency and compliance with due process,” the statement added.
The clarification comes amid scrutiny of Osun’s rising external debt, with the governor maintaining that the increase reflects inherited obligations rather than fresh borrowing by his administration.