Against the backdrop of the economic instability in Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has described the state as one of the best states in the country, saying that the National Bureau of Statistics, in its report, ranked the state highest in terms of development in 2012.

This was revealed in a statement made available to ceoafrica by his media aide, Semiu Okanlawon, at the 42ndAnnual General Meeting of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), held in Osogbo, on Sunday.

While reacting to the present condition of the state, Ogbeni Aregbesola stated that he was sure participants at the meeting would attest to the fact that the opposition painted a wrong picture of the state.

“As horrifying as the pictures our opposition have been painting to you, I am sure that with your physical presence; you would have noticed that all what they are saying do not reflect in the faces of the accommodating people you see around.

“You would have also noticed that Osun is one of the best places to be in Nigeria. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, an agent of the Federal Government, Osun is the state with the highest development index in Nigeria in 2012.

“The Bureau equally said we are next to Niger State in poverty reduction index and we would have been above Niger State because the large chunk of Niger’s rating was influenced because of their boundary with Abuja and others,” he revealed.

Aregbesola also termed as “ill-informed”, those criticising the construction of an airport in Atido-Osun, adding that “the project, which was started by his predecessor was capable of transforming the economy of the state.”

He added: “It will not take time to develop the airport to aircraft maintenance hub in Africa. We only have just three aircraft maintenance hangers in the whole of Africa. We need not go to Europe or America to get the aircraft in Africa maintained.”