An opposition party in Osun State, the Democratic Leadership Alliance, on Thursday said the poor fiscal performance of the state in BudgIT’s 2026 assessment was a source of concern
The report by BudgIT, a Nigerian civic technology organisation, put Osun in 32nd position among the 35 states it ranked.
Lagos, Enugu and Bayelsa emerged as Nigeria’s top-performing states, while Cross River ranked last on the list of the states evaluated.
But in a statement obtained in Osogbo, the Osun State chairman of DLA, Tosin Odeyemi, said Osun’s position was an indictment of the Ademola Adeleke administration.
Odeyemi also said the development was shameful, stating that the inability to build a viable local economy contributed to the poor rating.
He stated that the ranking indicated that the state government has not translated the increase in federal allocations coming into the state into economic growth, fiscal discipline and sustainable development for the residents.
“This ranking is not surprising to us. It only confirms what we have been saying, that there is no economic blueprint for Osun and that should be a source of concern for all supporters of good governance. The development is worrisome.
“While states like Kebbi, Jigawa and Katsina are managing their resources prudently and ranking in the top 10, Osun, with all its potential, is ranked 32nd.
“How can a state that claims to be spending billions on paper be ranked among the worst in fiscal performance? It shows the government is only good at propaganda while the state’s economy is in shambles,” the statement read.
He also expressed concern that states with smaller federal allocations and without major industrial bases had fared better than Osun in the BudgIT ranking.
“The table does not lie. It shows that Osun is being run on FAAC allocation alone with no effort to grow the Internally Generated Revenue. Governor Adeleke is waiting for Abuja money to pay salaries while other governors are building real economies,” Odeyemi said.
He challenged the governor to concentrate on revamping the state’s economy, block leakages and invest in productive sectors.
Efforts to get an official reaction to the statement from the spokesperson for the governor, Olawale Rasheed, failed as calls to his line did not go through and he had not responded to the message sent to him requesting reaction as of the time of filing this report.
However, Olalekan Badmus, Special Assistant to the Governor on New Media, while contributing to discussions on the ranking in a post shared on a Facebook page named Adedayo Oderinu, drew attention to the non-release of allocations to local government areas in the state since February 2025
“Continuous withholding of Osun local government allocation has forced the state government into using state funds to settle financial obligations due to local government areas in the state,” Badmus said.
He recalled that in 2024, Osun came 12th in the fiscal ranking, which showed great improvement from years before it.
“As recently as 2024, which was reported in 2025, Osun came 12th in the fiscal ranking. That showed great improvement from years before it. So to say this government has no blueprint is not correct,” he added.
