Despite owing several months’ salary in Osun state, Governor Rauf Aregbesola, believes that his state is one of the best places to live in Nigeria.

Aregbesola said this in a statement made available on Sunday by his media aide, Semiu Okanlawon.

His assertion is backed by a 2012 report of the National Bureau of Statistics, where it ranked Osun State with the highest in development index.

The governor was quoted to have said this at the 42nd Annual General Meeting of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria, which was held in Osogbo.

He said, “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.”