Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun and the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state, Ladi Adebutu, on Friday traded words over alleged N86.21bn government’s debt within a year.
While Adebutu said the domestic debt of the state increased by 55.4 per cent between 2021 and 2022, Abiodun kicked, describing him as ill-informed.
Adebutu accused Abiodun of incurring N86.21bn in a year while addressing supporters and members of PDP in the state during the official flag off of his campaign in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
 According to Adebutu, the domestic debt profile of the state rose from N155.57bn in 2021 to N241.78bn by June 2022.
Adebutu said, “The domestic debt profile as recorded by this administration again rose from N155.57bn in 2021 to N241.78bn by June 2022 representing a disheartening 55.4% increase in debt.
 “This government has continuously succeeded in enlisting Ogun State in the list of highest indebted states in the country.
“Under their administration, the state dropped to the 19th position on the 2021 Fiscal Performance Ranking from the 3rd position in 2020, contrary to their fake noise and hype that there was improvement in the internally generated revenue of the state, the sharp slide from the 3rd position to the 19th position within 10 months of review was as a result of the decline in the IGR of the state by about 28.44 per cent. In correct perspective, the IGR dropped with about N20.17bn within a period of 11 months”.
He appealed to the people of the state to reject the APC and its candidates at the polls, saying the PDP was committed to delivering the state from the “shackles” of the APC.
Reacting, the governor, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Kunle Somorin, denied the claim.
He said, “He (Adebutu) is ill-informed and he’s merely raking mud and contriving the allegation to call attention to himself, mislead the public and malign a focused, accountable, responsive and responsible promise-keeping administration.
 “Governor Abiodun does not engage in frivolous borrowing like Adebutu’s hallucinatory mind conjured.”
