GOVERNOR Rauf Aregbesola has debunked rumour that he slapped his deputy, Mrs. Grace Tomori, and said it was aimed at causing disaffection capable of destabilising Osun State.
Aregbesola, who noted that cordial relationship exists between him and Tomori, said: “I have never beaten anybody in my life. In fact, I don’t beat my children, let alone beating any other person. More so, the deputy governor is older than me, so how do I beat an elderly person.”
The governor, who spoke during a seven-hour live television programme tagged “Ogbeni till day break” maintained that “I don’t have any quarrel with my deputy, and I can’t have any with her because I intentionally chose her and no one choose her for me. I think I can work with her and that is why I chose her. So, no differences exist between us.”
The deputy governor who was also present at the programme confirmed the claims of the governor when she was asked to respond to the allegation that Aregbesola once slapped her.
Tomori stressed that cordial relationship exists between her and the governor, adding that she would remain loyal to Aregbesola.
On the crisis rocking the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), Aregbesola said: “Let the NGF take care of itself. The forum is a voluntary one and it is not compulsory that every governor is a member.”
He also denied insinuation that the debt profile of the state has risen to N300 billion, saying the opposition party made the allegation to scuttle the progress of the state and cause confusion. According to him, the monthly allocation that accrues to the state from the Federation Account and the internally generated revenue could not cater for the development going on in Osun, hence the resolve of his government to take loans and bond from financial institutions.
“There is nowhere in the world where borrowing or taking loan is a taboo. Advanced nations of the world even borrow money to execute projects. Any government that wants to succeed may need to borrow for projects execution,” he said.