The Many Storms On Governor Adeleke As He Clocks One Year In Office
Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke took over from Adegboyega Oyetola, who is now the minister of blue economy. The state governor has faced a number of issues and he seems to always emerge from them unscathed. In fact, he is one of the most controversial governor or politician in the southwest state.
He had faced scandal around his certificate and qualifications. He was accused of forgery, he was alleged to be a very poor student in the school. That partly contributed to his failure to win the 2018 gubernatorial election in the state. The campaign was that Osun State, which has produced veterans in all disciplines, couldn’t afford to have a “certificate-less” governor.
He rushed to the United States of America and obtained a diploma. He returned to the country, to the state wielding his new weapon and he coasted home victory by beating his 2018 rival in 2022. And all debates around his academic background ended.
He faced a protracted legal matter during the first year of his tenure. Ademola Adeleke called the tussle between him and Oyetola a distraction. They both slugged it out from the tribunal to the apex court. And the matter was lay to rest in the first half of this year.
The governor, an indigene of Ede, whose eldest brother was the first governor of the state, started making appointments. There was an uproar when it was all but clear that he would favour his kinsmen from the town. He compensated his own people and even made himself the commissioner of works, one of the juiciest slots in a government.
He also created new, but funny ministries, including ministry of federal government. It’s one of the most laughable steps the governor, Mr. Adeleke has taken. He put the wife of his late eldest brother, Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke in charge of the ministry. He also appointed a cousin, a fresh graduate as the chairman of the Osun State Local Government Service Commission. The post is meant for elders, traditionally.
The storm was so big that one thought he would be engulfed by it or that it would seriously discredit his administration. Rather he maneuvered and moved on. He rode gallantly in the storm. Nigerian society is one whereby the people easily and quickly forget things. They don’t really care about what happens in the government.
Ademola Adeleke, a former member of the House of Senate, has faced allegation bordering on mismanagement. Just last week, Sahara Reporters gave an exclusive report in which the governor’s office reportedly spent almost a billion naira on welfare and meals.
Osun is an impoverished state that relies almost totally on federal allocation. Osun’s internally generated revenue is really low, yet within just three months, the governor appropriated a sum of N2BN! That’s too much considering how poor and impoverished the state is. Thousands, if not millions, of its citizens struggle to feed. Under his watch, and of course with his approval, the Osun State House of Assembly spent more than N800m within the same period.
Negligible few citizens cared about that as well. In fact, it’s at the same time the cans of worms were opened in other states including Edo, Lagos, Ondo, Abia, etc. So, the uproar, or criticism, was not loud. He remains unruffled.
Through his Chief Press Secretary Olawale Rasheed, Governor Ademola Adeleke announced the removal of the Chief Judge of the state Adepele Ojo. An acting chief judge was also named in her stead. The Nigeria Bar Association, the National Judicial Council condemned the decision to remove the justice.
He backtracked and denied removing Adepele Ojo. And everything started moving on smoothly.
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