Mr Adeleke said he has embraced openness and transparency, urging commentators to avail themselves of facts and figures, instead of twisting and falsifying publicly verifiable details about state governance.
Osun state Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has shed some light on his management of state resources, including palliative measures initiated by his administration and those supported by the Federal Government.
Responding to reports and questions raised by some groups in recent days, Mr Adeleke, in a statement by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, urged commentators to always avail themselves of publicly available facts about government programmes so as not to be perceived as serving opposition interest.
He noted that his administration has deliberately filled the public space with its plans and intentions across the sectors.
"The Governor has embraced openness and transparency. Our commentators should avail themselves of critical facts and figures, instead of twisting and falsifying publicly verifiable details about state governance," the statement read.
On palliative distribution in Osun State, Mr Adeleke urged the civil society to always engage in thorough field review before taking positions, especially as most of the questions raised could have been answered either through desk research or direct freedom of Information requests to the relevant government agencies.
"Rice distribution was handled by a non-governmental committee, chaired by the chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria and populated by representatives of various non-governmental groups. The inauguration of the committee and its activities were widely covered by the media.
"As for the N2 billion palliative expenditure, we urge the group to officially contact the government if it has legal fulfilment to do so within the framework of the Freedom of Information Act, especially as the group has shown mischief and refusal to accept details severally released by the government on the administration of palliative measures in the state," he said.
Mr Adeleke disclosed that there were multiple government programmes ongoing in the state, which have at its core palliative interventions.
He listed them to include the wage awards for pensioners and workers that are going to run for six months, sustenance of payment of half salary and pension debt inherited from the previous government; the N3 billion plus cooperative loans for artisans and small businesses; the soft medical programmes like free medical surgeries for pensioners; expansion of free grants to the poor, and expected delivery of new buses to widen transport access and affordability.
The governor further noted that Osun State was spending far above the said N2 billion, which was a loan to states and which the Federal Government had even asked the state governments to start refunding.
He stressed that it was false to assert that the Governor had added N2 billion to the N100 billion infrastructure fund, as the state had spent far above the N2 billion in service of the needs and aspirations of residents.
Reacting to inquiries on what Osun State was doing with its allocations, the governor reminded the group that there is an elected government in place with a mandate to govern and deliver on good governance within statutory structures and platforms, and with appropriation laws to which all are bound.
"How government funds are being disposed of and expended are governed by laws. The group can reach the public account committee of the House of Assembly for the annual public account report or take hold of the 2024 budgetary act to read how state funds are allocated across sectors and projects.
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"Without ascribing bias, we further educate the group to at least read the state Governor's plan on food security, which he has presented at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and for which he has empanelled a committee chaired by the Commissioner for Agriculture," the statement added.
Speaking on developments in the state's mining space, Mr Adeleke noted that the government inherited a messed up sector with a deep level of corruption and lack of accountability.
According to him, as a result, a reform was launched by the new mining office, which is addressing issues of environmental protection, respect for community development, securing the state mining license, and fruitful negotiation to validate Osun's shareholding in major mining firms.
