The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has launched criticism against Governor Ademola Adeleke's administration, alleging that it is more attracted to the allure of being in power than focusing on concrete developmental plans for the state.
In a strongly-worded statement released on Monday, September 11, 2023, Tajudeen Lawal, the state APC chairman, accused Governor Adeleke's government of failing to convene council meetings for approximately two months since assuming office, raising concerns about the state's governance.
"It is strange for a democratic state government to refuse to hold executive meetings for about two months," Lawal asserted. "The laissez-faire approach of Governor Adeleke to governance is a confirmation that he is only attracted to the glamour of the office without having any tangible program for the development of the state. Adeleke has been appropriating funds for the running of the state without holding the state executive meetings."
Furthermore, the APC chairman expressed dismay over the relocation of the state Government House and Governor's Office to the governor's sister's residence in Ede, where Governor Adeleke has resided for the past ten months since his inauguration.
"It is absurd for the Governor to have relocated the Governor's Office and the Government House to his sister's residence in Ede where he resides ten months after the inauguration of his administration," Lawal declared.
He also criticised Adeleke for failing to deliver on his promise to release White Papers addressing some of his controversial Executive Orders.
However, responding swiftly to these allegations, Olawale Rasheed, Governor Adeleke's spokesperson, dismissed the APC's accusations as a case of selective memory.
"The former governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, held his maiden state executive council meeting on November 4, 2019, almost a year after the 2018 governorship election," Rasheed retorted.
"It is, therefore, a probable loss of memory for the state APC to accuse the current administration of either not holding or not announcing to the public the meetings of the state executive council meeting."
Rasheed emphasised that Governor Adeleke's administration should not be judged by the abysmal record of the previous government, and he urged the public to see through what he described as "falsity" within the state APC and its leadership.
"The cabinet members have for the past three weeks deepening the state sectoral agenda through rigorous brainstorming sessions with the establishment in preparation for an elaborate and expanded state executive council meeting," Adeleke's spokesperson concluded.