Gov Adeleke Denies Spending N3.1 Billion on Foreign Trips, Says Claims Are Misleading

Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, has refuted media reports alleging that his administration spent N3.1 billion on foreign trips between January and June 2025, describing them as false and deliberately misleading.

In a statement released on Monday by his spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, the governor reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to fiscal transparency and accountability. He stressed that the reported figure had been misrepresented to give a distorted impression of government spending on travel.

According to the statement, the N3.1 billion in question was not spent on the governor’s personal travels but was part of a broader budget covering training and capacity-building programs—both local and international—across over 100 ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) in the state.

“Contrary to the misleading narrative, the stated amount represents a near full-year training budget for Osun State’s ministries, departments, and agencies,” the statement clarified.

It further explained that the expenditure included costs for transportation, accommodation, feeding, and logistics for commissioners, permanent secretaries, directors, heads of agencies, and staff of tertiary institutions. Many of these programs, the statement added, were scheduled in the first half of the year to avoid disruptions from anticipated political activities in the second half of 2025.

To further demonstrate cost-saving efforts, the governor’s office noted that Adeleke often uses a family-owned private jet to reduce travel expenses for the state. His recent trip to the United States was cited as an example.

Describing the allegation that Governor Adeleke personally incurred N3.1 billion in travel expenses as “mischievous and unfounded,” the statement urged the public to disregard the reports and remain confident in the administration’s dedication to prudent financial management.