Following the conviction of Oba Joseph Oloyede by a court in the USA, Osun State governor, Ademola Adeleke, has ordered the state commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Mr Dosu Babatunde, to take the necessary actions on the brewing crisis over the stool of Apetumodu kingdom.
The governor’s directive at the State Executives Council Meeting to the commissioner is coming on the heels of agitations over the vacant stool between those in favour of Oba Oloyede who want the stool vacant till his return to the kingdom and those who want the convicted monarch replaced.
It would be recalled that Oba Oloyede, the 27th Apetumodu of Ipetumodu, was recently sentenced to more than four years’ imprisonment in the US for COVID-19 loan fraud.
The meeting, which dragged late into the night, appraised developments within each sector and appreciated the many endorsements and commendations the administration has received from all cadres of people in Osun State.
“We must congratulate ourselves on the series of endorsements and approval rallies and declarations from various interest groups in the state. Our job performance rating is at a very high level and our government is rated very high by all categories of Osun people”, the governor told cabinet members in his address.
While urging cabinet members not to relent in the delivery of democratic dividends, the governor said, “Despite the challenges facing us, we are fulfilling our obligations, especially in critical areas of governance.”
The governor said the Ministry of Works is working hard to deliver on schedule, the ongoing infrastructure projects, noting that the administration is speeding up the execution of the Ilesa dualisation, the Ile-Ife flyover, the Oke Fia/Lameco flyover, the Iwo dualization, among others.
On the State Electricity Market law passed by the House of Assembly, the governor directed the commissioner for Energy to develop an implementation plan, which should include seeking supportive assistance from the National Electricity Regulatory Commission.
For the Ministry of Science and Innovations, the governor urged the fast-tracking of implementation plans and timelines for the two major policies recently endorsed, namely, the ICT policy and the State Tech Innovation policy.
While commending the ministry on the recently unveiled Imole Wifi Initiative, he charged the Ministry of Science and Tech to develop a state road map for the applications of Artificial Intelligence and Block chain technology.
For the Ministry of Agriculture, the governor requested urgent actions for the full implementation of the Statewide Youth Agropreneurship project which was launched at Oriade, directing that ministry should dust its plan and ensure the programme commences across all local governments in the state.
