The administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun has come under scrutiny following reports of alleged lavish spending in the first half of 2025. claims circulated that the government expended a staggering ₦2.8 billion on foreign travels and training, with an additional ₦1.674 billion allocated to refreshments and meals during the period.
In a statement issued on Monday in Osogbo, Malam Olawale Rasheed, the governor’s spokesperson, attempted to address the controversy, labeling the figures as “untrue.” however, the reports have already sparked public debate over the government’s financial priorities, with critics questioning the rationale behind such a large allocation in the state’s budget for the specified categories.
He described the public debate around the figures as a politically-motivated smear campaign.
The governor’s spokesperson said that the travelling and training costs were legitimate expenditures tied to capacity-building initiatives for civil servants across several ministries, departments, and agencies.
According to him, the amount quoted for international travels and trainings for the first two quarters of the year is the expenditure of the entire officials of the state government.
He said that the current high exchange rate of the naira had largely impacted the amount for the trainings and travels.
He said that since the travels were mainly funded by the naira, it significantly increased the total cost despite the reduction in the number of delegates and frequency of traveling when compared to past administrations in the state.
“The governor is only the head of the government; there are several other sectorial heads and career officers whose expenditures on travels and training make up the state government expenditure.
“Therefore, it is incorrect to say that the governor spent so much on traveling,” he said.
Olawale said the expenditure for cleaning and fumigation services, and refreshments represented the amount spent by the state to maintain a clean environment across the state secretariat, agency offices, the government house, among others.
