…As group charges Adeleke to ignore distractions, remain focused on democratic delivery
By Ismail Azeez, Osogbo
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has replied the Governor of Osun state, Senator Ademola Adeleke on his comments on the payment of pensions and gratuities by previous administrations in the state.
The Party at a press conference held at the Ileri-Oluwa Campaign Office in Osogbo described the claims made by the Governor that the previous administrations of Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola paid only N17.2bn as pension and gratuities in 12 years as lies.
The Party’s Director of Media and Information, Chief Kola Olabisi, said the Adeleke led-government has failed to make any impactful efforts to drive the people out of poverty to financial prosperity.
In the area of workers’ welfare, Olabisi accused the government of paying lip service to the well-being of public workers despite the state’s impressive revenue.
He said, “The two years of Governor Ademola Adeleke has been a motion without movement. No impactful effort to drive the people out of poverty to financial prosperity.
“The only sector that has been adequately funded is the Office of the Governor where one computer laptop was bought for N2.1 million, N3 billion was allocated to buy 20 Landcruiser Jeep for unproductive politicians.
“When we met here last year for a similar briefing to review the government’s 365 days in office, we had thought we had seen the bad and the ugly of the current government all, not knowing the statecraft would be further led into further abyss.
“The last two years of Governor Adeleke have taken Osun State back to the primitive age where, according to the English philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, in his seminal book, ‘Leviathan,’ man’s life was solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short, because the world was without governments.
“Even though there seems to be a government in Osun on paper, in reality and in the truest sense of the word, there has been an absence of government in Osun in the last two years.
“There is a plethora of issues to discuss about the last two years of this government, but for want of time, we will reduce it to the key campaign rhetorics of Governor Adeleke, viz: welfare of public workers, affordable education and health, adequate wealth creation and employment for the teeming youth, food security, etc.
“Some days ago, as part of his efforts to glorify his hopeless government, Governor Adeleke made a futile effort to defame the administration of his predecessors. In the speech, the governor romanticised how his administration in 24 months released N22.6 billion to settle pension and gratuity, an amount he claimed represented 70% of what the ‘two previous administrations under a 12 year period’ paid for the same purpose.
“It is ungratifying that a state governor would lie openly figures and details contained in the audited accounts of the state. Nothing could be that demeaning.
“In actual fact, the N17.2 billion quoted by Governor Adeleke as what was paid in the entire four years of the former governor Oyetola to settle pension and gratuity was what the government in just two years of the administration paid. This is a testament that the government of Adeleke can not be trusted.
“On Education, Adeleke’s government has proven to be an irredeemable failure. Ranging from the sack of 1,500 teachers employed by his predecessor without replacement yet, to satanic fees in public schools, it is obvious the government does not mean well for the people of the state.
“In the whole of Atakumosa East, for instance, there exists just one Physics teacher. The implication of this lack of teachers to teach core subjects is that medical doctors, engineers, scientists can’t be produced from this local government. The situation is the same in other local governments as many of the parents are decrying the ugly development.
“Gentlemen of the Press, are you aware that law students are charged N1.5 million in the newly established University of Ilesa? The nursing students are charged N1.2 million per session. Whereas their counterparts in Osun State University are charged N300,000- N500,000 for the same courses.
“Why should UNILESA students pay a cut-throat fee if the government truly and adequately funds the Institution? Universities all of over the world are funded through government subventions, private endowments and corporate sponsorship, not through arbitrary school fees as it has become order of the day in UNILESA.
“From January-September 2024, the state government only supported the university with measly N60 million as the whole funding for the period came from student school fees,” APC said.
Meanwhile, Civil Society groups have called on Osun state Governor, Ademola Adeleke to ignore distractions and remain focused on his democratic delivery by maintaining high performance.
A team of civil society leaders led by Comrade Declan Ihekaire said that it is important to sustain his high performance, which has positively impacted the lives of Osun State residents.
According to Ihekaire, “We are selected leaders of the civil society in Nigeria on a review and assessment mission to Osun state. We represent a wider group whose goal is to hold leaders accountable and ensure delivery of good governance
“We are not card-carrying members of any political group and we are not part of any partisan caucus. We have a history of activism as veterans of the pro-democracy movement in Nigeria.
“The current Osun state government has been faithfully committed to the implementation of its agenda. We can affirm that significant delivery has taken place from the promises made by Mr. Governor to the people of Osun State.
“He must stick to his high service delivery standard and scope of his democratic delivery.
“On the strength of the above findings, we call on the Governor to consider the temporary effects of his high performance and never to get distracted by shenanigans. He must stick to his high service delivery standard an scope of his democratic delivery.”