We did not inherit any Job Centre from Oyetola — Adeleke cries out

By Jeleel Olawale, Osun

Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke has refuted claims that he shut down Osun Job Centre and withheld 12 month salaries of staff noting that he inherited no such establishment from the previous administration.

The Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Barrister Kolapo Alimi, in a statement said there is no truth in the publication as Governor Adeleke did not inherit any purported  Osun Job Centre from the immediate past administration and under this workers friendly government, no salary of any civil servants had been withheld.

“Members of the public should be informed that the said Job Centre was created in 2016 but former Governor Oyetola on assumption of office in 2018 tactically shut it down and allocated the complex to Bosun Oyintiloye who used it for Civic Engagement.

“Records showed that throughout the period 2018 to 2022, the said centre was not funded and  at a point, the rented apartment became the campaign office for the former Governor.

“Official records also showed that those engaged at the centre are contract staff who were engaged without compliance with public service regulations and who were mostly political activists.

“The few civil servants within the centre were also redeployed. The Oyetola administration used the Centre as annexure of the Ministry of Information to placate Mr Oyintiloye, who by then was Special Adviser to Oyetola on Civic Engagement in the Ministry of Information and Civic Engagement. The place was a political campaign ground all through the tenure of the last administration.

“On assumption of office, Governor Adeleke had focused attention on creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive and for job seekers to become employers of labour.

“Governor Ademola Adeleke is focused on increasing economic opportunities, supporting small businesses and easing the business environment for job seekers to become employers of labour,” the statement explained.