Ogun debt still within N40bn limit – Amosun

From James Ogunnaike, Abeokuta

Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun has clarified that his government has not exceeded N40billion limit it had set for itself.

The Governor who disclosed this while giving account of his Stewardship in Abeokuta, the state capital said that his government had never exceeded the N40billion limit it had set for itself,

emphasizing that government had been servicing its debt at regular intervals particularly when the ebb and flow of its financial commitment was low.

He clarified that the need to borrow was due to the dramatic and drastic decrease in federal allocation accrued to the State by the Federal Government since the outset of his administration. The

governor explained that the success achieved so far in rebuilding the State would had been a tall-dream but for the cooperation of taxpayers and the increased revenue generation drive by his administration from the traditional N750million to an average of N5.2billion monthly.

On education, Amosun said his administration’s free and qualitative education programme will continue to be accorded high priority saying that it has spent over 60% of its capital expenditure in the last three years on the sector.

While emphasizing that the task of funding education was enormous, the governor noted that his government was committed to improving infrastructural development in schools in the State to promote the standard and quality of education.

On the closure of Olabisi Onabanjo University, the Governor noted that government was forced to shut down the school because the students were ready to defy the peace of the State to achieve their unrealistic demands at the expense of their counterparts in other tertiary institutions.

“I personally insisted I must speak to them myself and defied security advice not to, due to their unruly conduct. They wrecked so many havocs while protesting but we discussed with them and told them we cannot further reduce their school fee after the 60% revert.”