By Wale Bolorunduro
I am happy,?the current government of Osun has owned up to their previous covert operation of giving falae information to the social media journalist on its loan figures and monthly loan repayment. Through their official response to the part I of my article out of the three- part publication, without knowing that I had done breakdown analysis of their monthly loan repayment deductions on the items, in the part II, so rather than waiting to see the expository, they rushed out without covering their rare. Yes I had employed Tunde Adejumo as the DG of Osun DMO because I thought he will remain a professional irrespective of political pressure and that he would know that he was not capable of holding out in official capacity, because his tenor has expired since last year October or November 2021 but if this dirty monkey job as a pawn, will help him to secure another term, so be it, I will want him to continue in the office because he would still be useful in the near future because “omo buruku ni ojo rere ti e”.
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I believe Tunde Adejumo as an expired DG of Osun DMO can talk because the current Governor (Chief Gboyega Oyetola) was the Chairman of the Board of Osun DMO, when Tunde Adejumo was appointed based on my recommendation. He was out of job having being sacked by the university, where he was teaching after he left diamond bank. He had no experience in project finance or public finance but I believed we could train him and which we did. I wish he can remain truthful to his conscience and remain a professional. I have heard of the frustration of the DG DMO and possibly he might not be getting data from the Accountant General of the state on the deductions and fresh debt of the state.
Now to the issues. The state law that set up Osun DMO was a sponsored Bill under my tenure as a Commissioner of Finance and it requires the DG to publish the public debt of Osun, so why not publish it for the past three (3) years especially, when the loan figure of 141billion naira given to the public by Chief Gboyega Oyetola during the 2018 Governorship Debate, changed to your fathomed 200billion naira. Do you think anybody will take you serious for just throwing figure around. I have accused you and the current government of doing fuzzy mathematics with Osun public debt figure and here you go, bingo by mentioning items that can not be described as secured payables as part of your public debt. You didn’t even mention the amounts. So when did you slide this low, Mr Tunde Adejumo. You know that is voodoo accounting; conjuring “strange items” without figures and throwing away ethics? Haba, let the DG DMO get hold of himself now. He is exposing Governor Oyetola that he is supposed to be protecting. Conjuring Governor’s approvals that never got to final due process or contract that never got to the mobilization stage is not only weird it is highly unprofessional and shows moral bankruptcy on the part of the current government of Osun. If this is the firewall you are referring to, then, we have broken it. In the last three years of Oyetola, we know many approvals that have not been cash backed, will you be adding them to Oyetola’s loan portfolio? This reductionist approach is not sustainable and will not remove the issue, which is if Oyetola loan figure has gone up to 200billion naira from 171 billion naira (141 domestic loan confirmed by him and the 30 billion external loan), it must have gone up, solely under the present Governor Oyetola and his expired DG DMO. Even at that, if figures are attached to these “strange items”, you have introduced, will it add up to 30 billion naira, their fudge factor. Something else would have to be added in the fuzzy mathematics.
Now the DG of Osun DMO, representing the government has now included outstanding gratuities and pension items as part of the loan, which he described as “domestic non-borrowing debt”, although the accounting standard used was not mentioned but based on the breakdowns, gratuities and pension were included. These are unsecured retired workers payables. Do you even know the figures as at 26th November, 2018 and even at that, adding it to the public debt of the state is not only mischievous, it is voodoo accounting and a deliberate attempt to arrive at the Fudge factor, desired by the government. Aregbesola had huge pension and gratuities payables that he inherited and he cleared the substantial part. He also pension-rolled many of the retirees including all the staff that exited under old pension scheme. While gratuities payment was allocated monthly sum. I can not remember any previous administration, who has added this item to public debt and when Oyetola exits, we hope he would audit the claims and include it in the public debt, he shall be passing to the next generation.
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The DG Osun DMO has exposed himself as the purn in the game to sex up the loan figure so as to stain Aregbesola and to serve as soft landing for the current government, who is currently facing election and the needs to give account of his stewardship. For Tunde Adejumo to use Gross Statutory allocation, which is not the only revenues from federation accounts, as basis for his net negative receipting January is not only grossly irresponsible but it shows the act of perfidy, which has become the hallmark of the current Osun government. What of VAT revenue of the state? Just because you wanted to show that you received negative allocation, you left out VAT revenue that average 500million naira monthly, in the last twelve (12) months? Why is the expired DG DMO dissembling and does he think everybody is a fool and will not know VAT is part of the revenues or monthly receipt and if the VAT revenue is added, there will not be negative receipt anywhere because what comes in is net. “Dokodoko ro wipe gbogbo Eniyan Lafoju” (a prostitute in the house thinks everybody is blind). Now he has exposed the current Osun government by this deliberate error of commission that net receipt from federation accounts is not negative. One day, they may tell us local government allocation is zero allocation and so we better start asking them to swear under the oath that LG revenues from federation account is less than 3billion naira monthly in the last three (3) months.
It is better not to go low with these people because the press statement of the DG could drive the analytical minds to that level. He started by saying the initial direct deduction was 2.61billion naira and that after paying down the two bonds, it came down to 1.8 billion naira but the monthly deductions on the two bonds was 0.96billion naira so how can the resulting figure be 1.8b, when it is supposed to be 1.65billion naira. Simple addition and deduction!!. This is a clear case of instability and I put it to him that the direct deductions in the first four months of Oyetola was 2.42billion naira, before the end of the deductions on the two bonds. However, we can see the government as represented by the DG DMO has also changed their total loan repayment from “over 72 billion” to “over 70 billion naira”.
Let me remind the DG DMO, he might have forgotten that, like some other former commissioners, Aregbesola asked me to stay back as his personal support adviser from December 2014 to December 2016. Mentioned any meeting (official and unofficial) that the DG DMO attended in that period that I didn’t attend. The restructuring of the loan and the Paris club refunds were originated and closed with my advisory/support service, which was purely altruistic. I served three (3) years and four month as substantive commissioner of finance and another two (2) years in personal advisory capacity. Aregbesola didn’t appoint commissioners for his second term until June 2017. So they served one year and four month with him. Therefore, without being immodest, I am a deeper repertoire of the financial data of Aregbesola’s eight year tenor. To the DG DMO Osun, you know you didn’t join me from my first day in office and I didn’t send you to DMO from day one.
On the monthly loan deductions, it was unfortunate that the DG DMO and those who are “playing ostrich” after serving as the “main part” of Aregbesola tenure for eight year have not read the part II of my article before putting forward their bad card, I will direct them to go and read it. I have already addressed all the loan repayment deductions figures, they were throwing around surreptitiously, before, which they have now owned up (now) as the fabricator. We have said the current monthly loan repayment is 1.5billion naira on all Aregbesola’s public debt items, the DG DMO have said 1.8 billion naira, let them give breakdown of loan repayment deduction on each of these public debt items since they are fixed monthly repayments. They have convoluted the figure so much, they will have to do multiple de-convolution of the sexed up figure. Until then, nobody will take them serious. They should not blame Aregbesola for their “other deductions” on IGR which they are using to pay their contractors. I will submit for the upteen time that any figure that omits reversals made as a result of loan forbearances by Federal Government and cash adjustments by the office of Accountant General of the Federation shall be dishonorable and shall be further exposed.
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Now the parting gift, I have always praised Governor Oyetola for increasing the IGR but he wouldn’t take it because he doesn’t want Osun people to start asking for patronages, roads and other dividends of democracy. That the annual IGR is now matching the annual public debt repayment is expected, after eleven (11) year of progressive developments of Osun because we are no longer in the short or medium term.
Wale Bolorunduro, PhD
Former Commissioner of Finance, Economic Planning and Budget writes from 6B Lase Ogunleye Street, off Fadahunsi Avenue, Ilesa, State of Osun.