Governor Ademola Adeleke has condemned the recently unveiled economic blueprint of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Mr. Muniru Bola Oyebamiji, describing it as “capital-flight oriented, old-school thinking” and out of step with current socio-economic advances in Osun State.
In a statement issued on Sunday by his spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, in Osogbo, the governor said a review of Oyebamiji’s economic plan revealed ideas that are outdated, contradictory to the progressive ideals he professes, and a calculated attempt to reverse the economic gains currently being enjoyed by the people of Osun.
According to Adeleke, “Mr. Oyebamiji, by his own admission, seeks to return Osun to the old era of capital flight to Lagos and a suppressive tax regime, with the effect of re-imposing extreme poverty on Osun people.”
The statement outlined that the Adeleke administration’s economic blueprint is anchored on local content development for citizens’ empowerment, grassroots and artisans’ financial inclusion, infrastructure expansion to fast-track economic growth, and the widening of the tax base through reduced tax rates. Other pillars include an improved ease of doing business to attract investment, agro-industrialisation through revived industrial and free trade zones, and mining sector reforms to diversify the state’s economy.
“The Adeleke economic agenda is people-based in conception and people-focused in implementation,” the statement said.
It further highlighted that the administration has empowered the grassroots economy through artisan and cooperative financing approaching ₦4 billion; strengthened local businesses through strict enforcement of local content policies in procurement and workforce management; reinvigorated the Osun Digital Economy Hub to tap into the multi-billion-dollar global digital market; increased internally generated revenue through tax harmonisation and digitisation; and relaunched industrialisation through the revival of Osun free trade zones.
Other achievements listed include sustainable debt management that has reduced the state’s debt stock, revival of agro-mechanisation and cocoa development, renewed partnership with the private sector through the Osun State Chamber of Commerce, and deepened investment drive via public-private partnerships.
The statement described Oyebamiji’s blueprint as “deficient in depth and orientation,” alleging that it merely recycled policies already being implemented by the current administration in areas such as tax reforms, industrialisation, revenue digitisation, investment promotion, public-private partnerships, and agro-industrial development.
“The AMBO plan is a recipe for economic retrogression and disempowerment of the local economy through abandonment of vital local content policies and reversal of the principle of Osun resources serving the Osun economy and its people,” it added.
The governor noted that Osun’s economy is already on a sustainable growth trajectory, stressing that power generation and distribution are critical to economic development. He pointed out that his administration has signed into law the Osun State Electricity Bill to regulate electricity generation and distribution, with implementation already underway.
On the digital economy, Adeleke stated that Osun has been positioned as a digital hub through a series of ICT and digital-driven legislations currently being implemented, noting that Oyebamiji’s blueprint showed little understanding of these global economic trends.
The statement also criticised Oyebamiji’s proposal to link Osun’s economy to Lagos, describing it as an attempt to revive capital flight and undermine Osun’s local content policy.
“While South-West inter-state collaboration under the Oodua framework is already ongoing, the proposed Lagos corridor is a direct attempt to stifle Osun’s agro-industrial drive, weaken the digital economy strategy, and reverse efforts to build sustainable local prosperity,” it said.
Adeleke further faulted Oyebamiji’s reference to a blue economy strategy, citing his tenure as head of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), during which, the statement claimed, waterway fatalities remained high and modern transport systems were not implemented.
The statement noted that under Adeleke’s administration, the Owala Lake Beach Resort is now operational under a public-private partnership after decades of abandonment, while similar inland water bodies in Modakeke and other areas are being projected for revitalisation. It added that key tourist sites across the state are undergoing upgrades and modernisation through PPP arrangements.
“Osun does not need a repeat of sordid records from NIWA,” the statement said.
Concluding, the governor declared that Osun has moved beyond economic stagnation.
“Like the popular refrain, Osun can never go back. Osun has gone too far in economic liberation, prosperity, and sustainability. It is already too late to retrogress. It makes no sense for Osun to return to an era of corporate exploitation enforced by a few corporate hawks masquerading as people-loving politicians,” the statement concluded.
