Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has said his administration significantly boosted the state’s Internally Generated Revenue and has been financially prudent in order to sustain governance and essential services amid the ongoing crisis over the non-release of local government allocations.
Speaking in Ilesa on Thursday during the free enrollment of inmates at the two Correctional Centres in the state into the Osun Health Insurance Scheme, Adeleke noted that the financial strain caused by the seized allocations forced his government to adopt tighter fiscal discipline and innovative revenue measures.
“Many have asked how we are achieving all these despite the state’s lean financial situation, especially in the last seven months,” Adeleke said.
“The answer is simple: aside from being strong believers in God, we embrace transparency and priority spending in the management of state funds.
We have raised our Internally Generated Revenue and we judiciously manage our special project account.”
While expressing optimism that the lingering local government crisis would soon be resolved within the framework of the law and constitutional provisions, the governor reiterated his administration’s commitment to inclusive governance and welfare.
Highlighting one such effort, Adeleke said the extension of healthcare coverage to inmates reflected his government’s belief that all residents, regardless of their status, deserve access to quality healthcare.
“Today, we extend our healthcare coverage to inmates of correctional centres as a demonstration of our concern for the health and wellbeing of every segment of our people,” he said.
Earlier, the Controller of Corrections in the State, Rotimi Olalekan, praised the governor’s approval of the enrollment of 1,200 inmates into the OHIS. He said the development followed a request he made to the Executive Secretary of the Osun Health Insurance Agency, Dr. Rasaq Akindele.
Olalekan also appealed to the governor for additional support, including the installation of barbwire on the perimeter fence, CCTV cameras for enhanced security, and a solar power system to ensure uninterrupted energy supply at the centres.
The Federal Government has since April withheld allocations to the local governments in Osun State following a battle for supremacy between the ruling Peoples Democratic and the All Progressives Congress over the control of the LGs.
