Governor Ademola Adeleke's administration seems to be struggling to effectively manage Osun State, according to the latest BudgIT's report. BudgIT is an accountability and transparency advocacy group supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
In the group's 2023 State of States assessment, the Osun's ranking in overall fiscal responsibility performance dropped from 11th in 2022 to 13th in 2023, indicating a decline in its financial management. This downward trend is concerning, especially since Osun was previously recognised for its limited dependence on federal allocation, ranking 8th in 2022.
The report highlights that Osun slipped six places to 14th position on Index A, which evaluates states' ability to meet operating expenses (recurrent expenditure) using only their internally generated revenue (IGR). Other states, such as Delta, Oyo, Enugu, Ekiti, Kwara, and Cross Rivers, which were previously ranked lower than Osun, have now surpassed it. Notably, Ekiti jumped from 25th to 10th position, while Cross Rivers moved from 11th to 5th position.
This decline raises questions about Governor Adeleke's capacity to lead the state towards progress. It appears the governor and his team are more focused on the benefits of office rather than providing genuine service to the people. The BudgIT report suggests that Osun's financial management needs improvement to ensure the state's viability and sustainability.
Part of the report reads thus, "Osun was the only state in the southwest region to experience a decline year-on-year in its IGR, a first in the last seven years, as its IGR plummeted by 7.02% from N29.56bn in 2022 to N27.49bn in 2023."
The IGR of N29.56bn, attributed to the defunct administration of Oyetola, contrasts sharply to the figure recorded in the 2022 audited financial statement of Osun State published in 2023 by the current administration.
BudgIT reports that Personal Income Tax was part of the items on the revenue line which dropped by 8.75%, from N10.63bn in 2022 to N9.7bn in 2023.
It also reports that the state's Ministry of Agriculture faced significant challenges, failing to replicate its 2022 tax generation of N1.03bn, resulting in a 58.21% decline in other taxes from N4.06bn in 2022 to N1.7bn in 2023.
In equal breath, the state's revenue from "Fines," according to the report, slumped by 79.73%, from N2.97bn in 2022 to N601.48m in 2023, just as "Rent on Government Building" and "Rent on Lands" declined by 81.2% and 51.71% respectively.
The report explains further that, "while the IGR of the state (dropped), its operating expenses increased by a bigger margins of 57.58% because its overhead costs grew year-on-year by 13.86%."
The implication of the data is that the IGR could only cater to just 32.19% of recurrent expenses.
Speaking on the performance, an Economist and public affairs analyst, Dr Segun Ademiluyi, highlighted the gravity of the situation, citing mismanagement of resources and leakages in revenue generation.
In his words, "The fact that the state relied heavily on federal allocation to fund recurrent expenditure in 2023, with a main chunk going to the governor's office, raises eyebrow. The drop in the IGR, worst in the region, should concern every citizen of the state. It is an indication that there are leakages in revenue generation of the state . This is contrary to the claim of the state governor. Also, it doesn't sound well that about N20bn from the N27bn IGR was spent on the governor's office. That was fiscally lousy."
Ademiluyi urged Governor Adeleke to conduct a thorough assessment of his administration to address the concerns and unpleasantness identified by BudgIT.
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