Controversy trails release of Adeleke’s commissioner

Controversy is trailing the composition of the list of nominees for commissioners and special advisers recently sent to the Osun State House of Assembly by Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State.

Ten out of the 30 local government areas in the state were not represented among the nominees. Besides, observers say the list of nominees read out by the Speaker, Adewale Egbedun also failed in youth and women inclusivity; only two women made the list of 25 nominees.

There has been bickering within the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) since the list was made public, as chieftains of the party are kicking against the marginalization of 10 local government areas by the governor.

Ijesa South Federal Constituency, Atakunmosa East Local Government and Ilesha West Local Government were not represented in the list. In Ife Federal Constituency, Ife North and Ife South local governments were also left out, while Isokan was missing from the list of nominees from the Ayedaade Federal Constituency.

The entire Iwo Federal Constituency, made up of three local governments – namely Ayedire, Iwo and Ola-Oluwa, was equally not represented in the list. Ifelodun Local Government Area, which has its headquarters in Ikirun, was also left out. In Ila Federal Constituency, Boluwaduro and Ifedayo local governments were not considered.

The marginalisation of the 10 local government areas has raised dust, with chieftains of the party kicking against it and calling for a review, even though the screening of the nominees has commenced behind closed doors at the Osun State House of Assembly. For instance, members of the PDP under the aegis of Concerned Indigenes of Ifelodun Local Government Area, led by Prince Olawale Opeyemi lamented the marginalization of the council area by Governor Adeleke.

He said: “We wish to put it on record that for the first time in a very long while, Ifelodun Local Government went all out for the victory of the PDP and Governor Adeleke in the last governorship elect. He won in our local government area convincingly both in 2018 and 2022. Data from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) indicate that in Osun Central, after Osogbo and Olorunda Local Government Areas, Ifelodun Local Government delivered the highest votes to the PDP in the governorship election in 2018 and 2022. PDP members in Ifelodun Local Government sacrificed so much to achieve that feat.”

He added: “There were rumours that the speakership of the state House of Assembly was supposed to come to Ifelodun Local Government Area, but that didn’t materialize. This is regarded as part of the many sacrifices that the people of Ifelodun Local Government have made to see this incumbent government thrive and succeed for the benefit of all. We expected Ifelodun Local Government to be given a slot; at least one key cabinet position such as a commissioner or a special adviser (cabinet level) in the administration of Governor Adeleke.”

The inclusion of the wife of Adeleke’s late elder brother, Adenike Adeleke, has also generated uproar. The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), for instance, believes that the nomination of the late Adeleke’s wife is an offence to the sensibilities of discerning indigenous of Osun State. Its chairman, Tajudeen Lawal said: “The inclusion of only two females in the list of 25 nominees is an unmitigated balderdash, hogwash and bunkum because it falls below the standard all over the world. It is also contrary to the promise the governor made to the women while campaigning.”

The chairman of the defunct The Osun Progressives (TOP), which was former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola’s faction of the APC, Lowo Adebiyi, has described as blackmail reports ascribing the nomination of former members of TOP to the role Aregbesola played in the emergence of Adeleke as governor last year.

Adebiyi said the nomination of Kolapo Alimi and Dr Biyi Odunlade has nothing to do with the defunct TOP or Aregbesola. He said Alimi is now a member of the PDP and that Odunlade too is believed to have joined the party; that he joined the party some months ago. He said those seeing the nomination of the former TOP members as “compensation” for the role the group played during the election that brought Governor Adeleke into power are just being economical with the truth because “it is baseless and untrue”.

He also described it as a plot by the IleriOluwa group to further discredit the former minister of interior and his loyalists.

Meanwhile, Governor Adeleke’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed has defended his principal, saying: “Governor Adeleke is deeply pro-women and quite gender-sensitive”. He said it is too early to judge the administration on gender and affirmative action, as only less than 10 per cent of statutory appointments have been made.

The list of nominees includes Oladosu Babatunde (Atakunmosa West), Prince Bayo Ogungbangbe (Oriade), Sesan Ephraim Oyedele (Modakeke), Kolapo Alimi (Irepodun), Soji Ajeigbe (Boripe), Moshood Olalekan Olagunju (Orolu), George Alabi (Ejigbo), Sunday Olufemi Oroniyi (Iwo), Abiodun Bankole Ojo (Ayedaade), Dr Basiru Tokunbo Salami (Ede South), Morufu Ayofe (Ede North), Sola Ogungbile (Egbedore), Rev. Bunmi Jenyo (Ila), Mrs Ayo Awolowo Ayo (Ila), Wole Jimi Bada (Ife Central) Dipo Eluwole (Ife Central), Alhaji Rasheed Aderibigbe (Odo-Otin) and Prof. Morufu Ademola Adeleke (Osogbo).

It also includes Adeyemo Festus Ademola (Irewole), Olabiyi Anthony Odunlade (Ife Central), Jola Akintola (Ilesa East), Mayowa Adejorin (Obokun), Adenike Folashade Adeleke (Ede North), Tola Faseru (Oriade) and Alh. Ganiyu Ayobami Olaoluwa (Olorunda).

The list is made up of people of varying backgrounds. Oladosu Babatunde is a legal practitioner who served as a council chairman in Atakunmosa West during the administration of former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, while Prince Bayo Ogungbangbe served as chairman of Oriade Local Government Area and board member. Sesan Oyedele is a businessman and former councillor who hails from Modakeke. Kolapo Alimi is a legal practitioner who served as commissioner for local government and chieftaincy affairs under Aregbesola, while George Alabi is a former member of the Osun State House of Assembly who represented Ejigbo State Constituency.

Abiodun Ojo, who hails from Ayedaade Local Government retired as a civil servant. A professional agriculturalist who graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, he was a commissioner of the State Universal Basic Education Board. Dr Basiru Salami is a former council chairman in Ede South. He is also a former lecturer at a university in the United States of America and at one time served the PDP as deputy chairman.

Sola Ogungbile is an accountant, while Bunmi Jenyo served Southwest PDP as secretary. Mrs Ayo Awolowo was a former Special Adviser to Oyinlola, while Dipo Eluwole is a former member of the Osun State House of Assembly. There is also Prof. Morufu Adeleke, an educationist from Osogbo. He lectures at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State.

On the other hand, Adeyemo Ademola served ex-governor Oyinlola as Chief of Staff and Olabiyi Odunlade served Aregbesola as commissioner for Youth and Sports. Jola Akintola is a lawyer and a former caretaker chairman of the PDP in Ilesha East.

In addition, Mayowa Adejorin was a former Special Assistant at National Assembly, while Mrs Adenike Adeleke is the wife of the late Isiaka Adeleke, who was the first civilian governor of the state during the aborted Third Republic. The late Adeleke was an elder brother of the incumbent governor. Ganiyu Olaoluwa was a transporter who served the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) before he became the local government chairman of Olorunda. Afterwards, he was appointed as Special Adviser to Oyinlola when he was state party chairman.

Meanwhile, the Osun State House of Assembly commenced screening of the nominees last Wednesday behind closed doors. Deputy Speaker Akinyode Oyewusi is the chairman of the screening committee.