Alli warns Makinde over reported ₦100bn loan as Oyo governorship race heats up
- APC's Oyo governorship candidate Sharafadeen Alli has warned Governor Seyi Makinde against fresh borrowing in his final months.
- Alli's campaign says it is concerned by reports of a ₦100bn commercial bank loan and ₦4.2bn for a disputed council election.
- The campaign wants full disclosure of Oyo's debts and has cautioned banks against lending without due diligence.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Oyo State, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, has asked Governor Seyi Makinde to avoid fresh borrowing and heavy spending in the last months of his tenure.
In a statement issued by his campaign organisation and signed by its Director of Media and Publicity, Bisi Oladele, Alli said decisions taken now must not leave the next government and future generations with avoidable debt.
The statement said the campaign was worried by reports that the Makinde administration is about to start the process of taking another ₦100 billion loan from a commercial bank. It also criticised a planned ₦4.2 billion spend on a local government election that, it said, members of the governor's own party are already challenging in court.
The warning comes after the Oyo State House of Assembly approved a ₦200 billion bond in June this year to refinance existing debts.
Questions over the loan and the bond
Alli's campaign said the reported ₦100 billion bank facility raises questions about why it is needed, given high commercial interest rates, and about its purpose, repayment plan, collateral and the projects it would fund.
On the ₦200 billion bond, the campaign asked for full details of the debts being refinanced, the interest attached to them, the bond's pricing and maturity period, and any savings the state expects to make.
It also urged the state government to publish an updated statement of Oyo's domestic and external debts, debt-servicing commitments and other outstanding obligations, and the financial position the next administration will inherit in May 2027.
The campaign cautioned banks and other financial institutions against lending to the state without proper checks on its ability to repay and strict compliance with financial rules.
"The authority to govern is not an unrestricted authority to borrow, spend or burden generations yet unborn with questionable financial obligations," the statement said.
It called on the House of Assembly to resist inducement and to scrutinise borrowing proposals and big spending approvals closely instead of treating them as routine.
The campaign acknowledged that Makinde still has about seven months in office and the constitutional power to run the state, but said those months must not become a window for questionable borrowing.
What happens next
The sources do not say whether the state has responded to the allegations or confirmed the reported loan. The campaign's demands for debt disclosure and closer legislative oversight will likely shape debate in Oyo as the governorship election approaches.
For ordinary residents, how much the state borrows and on what terms matters: debt servicing is paid from public funds that could otherwise go to roads, schools, health centres and other services.
