The Osun State government has denied any involvement in the ₦1 billion donation made to the Cherubim and Seraphim Church, clarifying that the contribution was a personal philanthropic act by Dr. Deji Adeleke, a globally recognized business mogul.
The Governor’s Spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, issued this clarification, who stressed that the state treasury did not fund the donation.
The rebuttal comes in response to accusations from the Osun State chapter of the All Progressive Congress (APC), which alleged that Governor Ademola Adeleke had misappropriated state funds for the donation.
The APC claimed that the Governor was squandering state resources through this contribution.
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Mallam Rasheed responded sharply to these claims, stating, “The state APC and its operatives have run out of ideas, hence the opposition resorts to barefaced lies and fake news on an event globally live-streamed and a donation personally made by the billionaire father of a billionaire, Dr. Deji Adeleke.”
Rasheed highlighted Dr. Adeleke’s history of philanthropic efforts, including substantial donations made during the COVID-19 crisis. “Let us all recall that Dr. Adeleke made substantial donations to the state government under the Oyetola administration during the COVID crisis. Was Governor Adeleke in office then? Dr. Adeleke also hugely contributed to the Federal Government during the COVID crisis. Was Governor Adeleke in charge of the Osun treasury then?” he questioned.
The Spokesperson further criticized the APC’s attempt to incite religious tensions, asserting that the Muslim community in Osun has seen more benefits under Governor Adeleke’s administration.
“Today, Governor Adeleke is almost completing the state Hajj Camp, which the previous APC government did nothing about,” he noted.
Addressing the broader context of APC criticisms, Rasheed remarked, “The Osun APC is daily hallucinating as it has become overwhelmed by the superlative performance of Mr. Performer, Governor Ademola Adeleke.
These days, press statements from the state APC appear to be silly concoctions from depressed minds who are lost as to how to tackle the state Governor.”
Rasheed concluded by reaffirming that the state government and Governor Adeleke were not involved in the ₦1 billion donation.
“We seek to put this unnecessary debate to rest by clarifying once again that neither the state government nor the state Governor donated the said One Billion naira to the Lagos church.
We add too that the said money is not being sourced from the state treasury. And we conclude by affirming that the philanthropist who made the donation had made even bigger donations in the past and even to the APC government to address the state emergency.”
“Members of the public should ignore the vituperations and the fake news merchants who now run the deeply unpopular and polarized APC structures in Osun state,” Rasheed concluded.
