A chieftain of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Akogun Oyedepo, has accepted a challenge by the Kwara State government to a public debate over his claim that it received the sums of N337bn from June 2019 to December 2021.

The government, in a statement by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Political Communication, Bashir Adigun, said the allegation was widely reported across various social media platforms.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that Mr Oyedepo was a member of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) in the state before he defected to the SDP last year.

“The government is certain that the claim is a baseless lie. It is one of the several evidence-free postulations of Akogun Oyedepo who has a reputation for always wanting to be the wisest person in the room and the cleanest Kwaran that ever lived.

“For the purpose of the general public, however, we challenge the SDP chieftain to a debate to be broadcast live on various broadcast platforms and or any other platform of his own choosing, which we will oblige and pay for. The media is also invited to this debate,” Mr Adigun said in the statement.

He said the debate would allow each side to give an account of what was earned with corresponding details from the Federal Ministry of Finance.

The governor's aide said members of the opposition are free to disagree with the government but they should base their opinions on facts.

“We recognise the tendency of the opposition to want to downplay the achievements of the ruling government. We are also not debating their right to (hold) whatever perception of the government, which is clearly at variance with the positive acclaim the administration has received from the non-partisan Kwara public.

“However, we believe that facts are sacred. Since the data being discussed is available to the public, especially a neutral source which is the Federal Ministry of Finance, it is important we debate what has come to Kwara State so far in order to clear any doubt,” he said

Mr Adigun said the state government would be represented by the Commissioner for Finance and the Accountant General of the State during the debate.

Oyedepo accepts debate

When contacted by PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Oyedepo admitted he made the statement during a radio interview.

He said he was sure of what he said against the government and would participate in the debate.

Mr Oyedepo said the state government agreed with the amount he quoted but disagreed with the timeframe.

“No, I made the statement on the radio where I criticized the state government for not doing the most appropriate things for the people of Kwara despite all the money they were able to get. And I quoted the figure.

“They agreed with my figure but they didn't agree with the years. Sincerely I don't know why they're disputing anything here. I told them to go and account for whether it's three years or four years and let them just come and account for it. So, what's the big deal there,” he said.

He said he told them to prepare the debate to cover both revenue and expenditures of their administration, allow people to see the bill of quantity of projects they claimed to have executed and cover the issue of misplacement of priorities by the state government among other issues.