Photo File: The Governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke

Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has described, as misleading and politically motivated, the claims that his administration spent N3.1 billion on domestic and international travel within a six-month period.

The allegation suggested that the travel expenditure was significantly higher than the budgetary allocations to most state ministries.

However, in a statement issued on Monday, the governor’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, refuted the report, clarifying that the N3.1 billion figure was not solely for travel expenses. According to Rasheed, the amount represented the full-year allocation for training and capacity building across more than 100 ministries, departments, and agencies in Osun State for the 2025 fiscal year.

Rasheed explained that Governor Adeleke personally bears the cost of most of his travels using his family’s private jet, which substantially reduces the state’s financial burden. He cited the governor’s recent trip to the United States as one such example. “The amount quoted for Governor Adeleke was negligible,” Rasheed said, adding that the figures cited in the media report were actually drawn from the state’s publicly accessible website as part of its commitment to transparency and accountability.

He dismissed the reports as being sponsored by opposition figures seeking to distort legitimate spending on official duties and staff development. Rasheed stated that the publication in question was a failed attempt to portray necessary expenditures as excessive, noting that the funds covered local and international training programmes for civil servants, as well as maintenance and operational costs across various agencies.

He further emphasised that Governor Adeleke was just one of several officials whose travel and training costs were accounted for within the broader budget. “It is incorrect to say Governor Adeleke spent so much on travelling,” he said, urging the public to evaluate the importance and future benefits of such trips and training engagements.

Highlighting key official outings, Rasheed pointed to the Commonwealth Business Investment Conference, where the governor led a delegation that signed a Memorandum of Understanding with ESG Management Services UK Ltd., aimed at attracting investment into agriculture, manufacturing, solid minerals, and other sectors. He also noted that many state agencies had frontloaded their training programmes into the first half of 2025 in anticipation of the commencement of pre-2026 political activities later in the year.