The Oyo State Government has addressed claims from Ibraheem Shittu—APC’s State House of Assembly lawmaker for Saki West—that Governor Seyi Makinde secured a fresh ₦300 billion loan, Peak Newspaper reports.
In a statement signed by Dr. Sulaimon Olanrewaju, Special Adviser (Media), the government clarified that the approval actually covers ₦149 billion for refinancing and ₦151 billion for infrastructure investment and contractor financing, not a single new borrowing.
“First, there is no ₦300 billion ‘loan.’ What the House of Assembly approved is ₦149 billion for refinancing… ₦151 billion for infrastructure investment and contractor financing…” the statement reads.
The government stressed that refinancing is not new debt but a cost-saving measure, and contractor financing enables project completion without overwhelming the state’s cash flow.
However, the release stops short of denying that the total amounts to ₦300 billion, accusing the APC and Shittu of misrepresenting the facts.
“It is important to remind the APC that it was under its eight years of misrule that Oyo State was reduced to a ‘civil service state’… suffocating debts,” the release contends.
Oyo’s IGR, according to the statement, has grown from ₦20 billion annually under the APC in 2018 to over ₦70 billion in 2025—without new taxes.
The new financing is earmarked for key projects, including Phase 2 of the 110 km Rashidi Ladoja Circular Road, the Samuel Ladoke Akintola Airport upgrade, and feeder roads.
Responding to Shittu’s claim that FAAC allocations rose 500%, the government called the figure “laughable,” affirming the actual increase is about 75%.
“That the lawmaker cannot distinguish between a 75 per cent increase and 500 per cent… confirms that he neither understands figures nor governance,” the statement reads.
The government also accused the APC of hypocrisy, saying a party infamous for leaving unpaid salaries and abandoned projects now lectures on fiscal prudence, despite praise from development partners like the World Bank.
“If the lawmaker in question had attended plenary, he would have had the correct information. Instead… he ran to the press with lies,” the statement adds.
