Ademola Adeleke’s drastic measures on assumption of duty as Osun State governor on November 27 may not be a surprise to those who have followed events since he was declared elected on July 17, 2022.
And with the history and tension that had surrounded the governorship election, for most pundits, it was hard to think that the current transition imbroglio was avoidable.
Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was declared winner of the July 16 governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). He defeated the former governor, Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Before he was sworn in as the sixth civilian governor of Osun State, Adeleke and PDP had criticised many decisions of Oyetola’s government, including the plan to conduct local government elections.
PDP said Oyetola could have conducted the election earlier, insisting the exercise will amount to a waste of state revenue especially with the huge debt profile of the state.
The party took the government to court, warning it would nullify the election immediately it assumed office.
Adeleke and his party also faulted the recruitment of workers at the twilight of the administration and questioned the promotions, postings and appointment of officers into key positions among which was 30 permanent secretaries into the state civil service. They insisted that all these actions would be nullified.
However, Adeleke, before assumption of office, set up a transition committee led by Dr. Muyiwa Oladimeji, to liaise with the then outgoing government.
His transition committee, when submitting its report a month before Adeleke’s administration started, said it did its best to look into the activities of the outgoing administration and also addressed the 5-point agenda of the incoming administration.
Responding, Adeleke said, “We are compiling the long list of infractions committed in the dying minutes of the APC government. Through appropriate channels and platforms, normalcy will be enforced within the ministries, agencies, and parastatals.”
In his inauguration speech, the new governor restated his decision to probe activities of the immediate past administration.
As such, on his first day in office, he signed six executive orders with focus on activities of the preceding administration. The probe was specifically from the day he (Adeleke) was declared elected till he took over office.
The executive orders covered chieftaincy matters, appointments issues, setting up of a review panel, staff audit and employment matters.
Each of the orders as disclosed by the governor’s spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, read: Executive Order on State bank accounts, “I hereby order the immediate freezing of all Government accounts in all banks and other financial institutions.”
Executive Order on Staff Audit. “All Heads of Ministries, Departments, Agencies, Commissions, Boards and Parastatals of Osun State Government are hereby directed to carry out an immediate staff audit of the actual number of government workers in their various Ministries, Departments, Agencies, Commissions, Boards and Parastatals, as at 17th July, 2022, and should file a report to the Office of the Chief of Staff to the Governor stating the full details and position/designation of each of the staff on the forwarded list , within 7 working days from the date of this Executive order using the attached Oath of Fidelity Template”
Executive Order on Employment. “All employments in the service of Osun State Government made in any capacity into any capacity in all the Ministries, Departments, Agencies, Commissions , Boards and Parastatals after July 17th, 2022 be and are hereby nullified.
Executive Order on Appointments: “All appointments in the service of Osun State Government made in any capacity into any capacity in all the Ministries, Departments, Agencies, Commissions, Boards and Parastatals after 17th July, 2022 be and are hereby reversed.
Executive Order on Chieftaincy Affairs and appointment of traditional rulers: “All appointments of traditional rulers made by Osun State Government after 17th July, 2022, are hereby ordered to be reviewed to ensure there was strict compliance with due process of chieftaincy declarations and native law, custom and tradition relating to such chieftaincies.
Four committees namely: Audit/Appointment/Promotions Review Committee, State Assets Inventory and Recovery Committee, Contracts/MOUs/ Agreements Review Committee and Chieftaincy Matters/ Appointment of Traditional Rulers Review Committee, were also set up.
Inaugurating the committees, the governor lamented the pillaging of government assets and tasked the panels to right the wrongs urgently.
He vowed not to back down on his resolve to stop all post-July 17 illegalities, assuring that Osun payroll pre-July 17 remains intact.
Earlier, Oyetola had said that it left N14billion cash in the state’s coffers, adding that it paid N97 billion from the total debt inherited in 2018 when he assumed office.
He disclosed that his administration did not borrow a dime anywhere in the world to finance the state’s economy.
Adeleke didn’t debunk the N14billion claim. He however said a monumental debt in salaries, pensions, and insurance commitments were incurred by Oyetola’s administration amounting to N76billion.
Meanwhile, he had directed the most senior career heads across all the Local Government Council Areas, the Area Office, LCDAs and ACDAs to take charge of the affairs of their respective councils in compliance with the judgement of the Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo which sacked elected local government chairmen and councilors.
He also directed the immediate suspension of the chairman of the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSIEC), Mr. Segun Oladitan and members of the Commission.
The secretary of the commission also said the commission would no longer prosecute the appeal of the chairmen and councillors whose elections were declared a nullity by court.
On physical assets, there were allegations of lootings before and after Oyetola left office, a claim Oyetola’s people denied vehemently.
The chief press secretary to Governor Oyetola, Ismail Omipidan who denied the alleged looting, said the Government House and the Presidential lodge were handed over to the new governor intact and with proper inventory taken on November 26, 2022.
He said Oyetola stopped sleeping in the Government House from Saturday, November 19, 2022 adding that by November 26, an inventory was conducted in the company of DSS officials attached to the Government House at the time and security operatives attached to the new governor, particularly A. Umale and Pius Akpan.
But the governor’s spokesman, Rasheed, insisted there were lootings and that the government has the responsibility to inform the public of what happened.
In furtherance of his move to ensure his administration is not frustrated with “traps” set by his predecessor, the governor inaugurated various committees among which are revenue and solid mineral committees.
The friction has since involved Oyetola’s estranged successor, now minister of interior, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, on Osun’s debt profile. Oyetola and Aregbesola, both of the same party, had clashed and failed to resolve their differences going into the governorship election.
Adeleke’s claim that Oyetola’s administration left N407.32b debt with little to show led to a back and forth between the two former governors over whose administration was at fault.
For pundits however, the transition saga is barely unfolding just as the review of the election is ongoing at the tribunal, the outcome of which will, perhaps, shape the political landscape of the state.
