TUNDE ADELEKE, Osogbo
The Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has defended his administration’s travel expenditures, stating that he usesa family-owned private jet to reduce expenses on international trips.
Reacting to criticism over the state’s international travel and training budget, Adeleke’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, emphasized that the Governor remains committed to transparency and prudent management of public resources.
According to him, Governor Adeleke remains committed to transparency and accountability in managing state finance as travelling costs being pushed around represent the near full year training allocation for the over 100 agencies of the state government.
“The public is also invited to note that a full breakdown of the state travelling cost showed that the amount connected directly to the Governor is very negligible as he mostly footed his expenses through the family private jet as in the case of his current visit to the United States.
“The sponsored publication is a failed attempt by the opposition to misrepresent and mischaracterise much-needed expenditure on local and international training programmes for public servants, service wide facility maintenance cost and several critical overhead expenses across over 100 government agencies. The fact that the state government actually posted those details on her website confirms that there is no foul play or misapplication of state funds.”
He added that the key international engagements attended with other officials, such as the Commonwealth Business Investment Conference, where Adeleke signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ESG Management Services UK Ltd. to attract investments in agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and other sectors.
Other sector-focused trips involved the Ministries of Commerce, Agriculture, Digital Economy, Water Resources, and Climate Change, as well as officials from state-owned institutions.
“As part of Governor Adeleke’s reforms to meet global best practices, top officials have attended international training sessions to enhance their competence and service delivery,” Rasheed noted.
He also pointed to Nigeria’s volatile exchange rate as a major factor inflating the naira value of travel and training costs. “What used to cost ₦400,000 a few years ago now costs around ₦1.6 million to get $1,000. That’s why the figures appear high even though the number of trips has been reduced compared to the past administration.”
On other expenditures, such as cleaning and refreshments, Rasheed said these covered facilities maintenance across public offices, schools, hospitals, and other state-run institutions.
“The figures being circulated were not leaked — they were published by the government itself. That reflects our commitment to accountability,” he stressed. “Anyone seeking further details can invoke the Freedom of Information Act to get a full breakdown.”
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