March 7, 2023 made it exactly 100 days since Governor Ademola Adeleke formally took the mantle of leadership of Osun State. In an interview he granted to a radio station in the state, Adeleke revealed how he assumed leadership of the state under turbulent circumstances, able to steady the ship and made some appreciable achievements among other issues affecting the state. TIMOTHY AGBOR brings the excerpts:
How has the journey been for you these 100 days in office?
First of all, I have to give thanks to Almighty God for this journey. It is so far, so good. It has been rewarding and productive notwithstanding the turbulent state in which I met it. The Lord has been merciful because we are delivering on our electoral promises.
You said you came in under a turbulent situation, how have you been able to steady the ship?
It’s God. Where there seems to be no way, God made a way for us and we are pushing along. Osun is moving as you can see for yourself.
What are the challenges you met when you came into office?
When I came into the office, the first thing was the situation of things I met on the ground. The first thing I did was that we have to know our debt profile. I called on the Accountant General and asked him to give me the entire list and bring everything together. During my campaign, I promised the people of the state that I will carry them along. After I was inaugurated, I invited all the traditional rulers in Osun State and informed them of the debt profile I met on ground as given to me by the Accountant General and I told them there was nothing on the ground. Since then, we have been trying to manage ourselves and put things together. That was the major turbulence we found when we got to power.
“For the Government House, I went there and discovered that it’s not livable for me. I am an international guy and a lot of people from across the world will be coming to visit me and image is very important. So, I have started fixing the Government House little by little. After the renovation, I will move to the Government House”
The transition committee you set up said they didn’t receive cooperation from the outgone government, is this true?
It’s true. I have never seen an outgoing government that doesn’t want to cooperate with the incoming administration.
Immediately I was announced as the Governor-elect, I got to work and set up the transition committee. I wrote the then governor and asked him to liaise with the committee, but they were dilly-dallying, uninterested and moving about, not until two days to my inauguration and they were now saying they were ready. So, we were just doing our own thing and getting prepared for the inauguration without any support whatsoever from the outgone government. The stadium was so dirty and everything was just upside down. So, we just have to do something to forge ahead without any cooperation from them.
What would you describe as your major achievements in these 100 days?
I have achieved a lot to tell the truth. I am proud of our success especially as it regards the salary problem I met. I keep saying that it’s a sin for someone to work and you don’t pay him. I cannot comprehend that. So, the first thing I did was that those who have worked and were not paid, I am talking about salary arrears that have been on since 2016, I had to say that we should manage what is on ground to settle them. So, I started by paying them their half salary arrears. That’s the major achievement I can say because people were already dying because they couldn’t get the money for the works they rendered. So, I paid them and I saw my people so happy. And when I see my people happy, I am happy also.
What are your other achievements?
We have ongoing and completed projects by my administration. Ongoing construction of portable boreholes in 332 wards of the state, construction of 20 kilometers of road across Osun State, presentation of N580 million to 40 communities in Osun State for infrastructural developments. Imole Surgical and Medical Outreach where 2000 persons will be covered in each of the nine federal constituencies, making it a total of 18,000 beneficiaries who received free surgeries for cataracts, pterygium and so on. There is a rural electrification project across Osun State, provision of transformers and other electrical materials to ensure that communities without electricity have light. Payment of salaries and pension arrears owed from July 2016 by the past administration. Enrollment of 3000 indigent Osun people on health insurance scheme to ensure adequate healthcare and access to health facilities for the people, the construction of the broken bridge in Iwo, the resumption of the construction of Osogbo-Ikirun road to the Kwara State boundary and many more. Osun people haven’t seen anything yet, more goodies are still coming.
What your predecessor, Gboyega Oyetola, said was that the state was going through a hard time financially and so he couldn’t pay the backlog of salaries. Where did you get money to settle the backlog?
Like I said, what I did in the first place was to block the leakages where I knew Osun money was going out. So, after blocking those leakages, I have money. I have to plan myself and strategize with my team and that’s why we were able to achieve what we have achieved.
Yes, civil servants have been so happy with the way you have been paying their salary arrears. Is this a political strategy or will it continue?
It’s not political. I am doing what Osun people voted for me to do and that’s to serve them. I am serving them in my best interest. I have always said that anybody who wants to be a leader, like a governor for instance must have the fear of God. So, it’s not political, it’s what I promised myself and promised God that as soon as I am elected, I will make my people happy. In fact, I have been doing it not because I am a governor, my family has been doing it and I said that during my campaign that people should go and fact-check. Is it during the COVID-19 pandemic that you want to talk about, where we (Adelekes) distributed food items all over? Not only in Osun State, we also contributed to the Federal Government. So, we have been doing it and when I have this governorship opportunity, I have continued to do it and I will do more even after this election. We have our strategy. Just keep a tab with our government.
You have not moved to the Government House in Osogbo, you have been staying in Ede. Do you intend to govern from Ede or what’s the plan?
No, I don’t intend to govern from Ede. Ede is not the seat of power, Osogbo is the seat of power where we have the Governor’s Office and Government House. Immediately I was sworn in, I went round to visit the Governor’s Office because they organised a prayer for me which I believe is what they do when a new government comes in. When I got there for that prayer with my friends from abroad, America, Germany and others, I saw that the White House had already turned brown, I looked back and I said I wished I never invited my friends who had come to invest in Osun State. I had always talked good about Osun but when I got to the Governor’s Office, from the gate, it was so dirty. I was embarrassed and had to apologize to the people. They were asking me whether I was sure that the government just left this building. They said how can a human being stay in such a dirty office. So, I had to use the available resources to fix the Governor’s Office and the Secretariat. My own office, that of the SSG and Chief of Staff are ready and we have been using them while fixing others.
For the Government House, I went there and discovered that it’s not livable for me. I am an international guy and a lot of people from across the world will be coming to visit me and image is very important. So, I have started fixing the Government House little by little. After the renovation, I will move to the Government House.
Your party swept all Senatorial and House of Representatives seats in Osun State during the Presidential and National Assembly elections, how does this make you feel?
I am so happy and proud of Osun people. I thank God Almighty because that overwhelming victory has put a stamp to my July 16 governorship election. It shows that my election is not fake. My people love me and they voted for me. This is unprecedented. It has never happened in Osun State. Like Oliver Twist, we are having another election on Saturday and I believe that the people that will work with me are members of the House of Assembly and I am appealing to Osun people that they should go out and vote for Imole, the way they voted for me on July 16, 2022 the way they voted for me on February 25, 2023 and everybody is now talking about Osun. We won all the seats in the Senate, won all the seats in the Federal House of Representatives and I believe that on March 18, we will have 26 zero against the APC by the special grace of God.
So I am calling on my people to vote PDP so that I will have a free and rest of mind.
Did the tribunal judgment that declared your opponent the winner of the July 16 governorship election slow you down in any way and what are your expectations at the Appeal and Supreme Courts?
I believe that the mandate of the people cannot be stolen. It has never slowed me down in any way. As you can see, work is going on across the state and we are not relenting. Or is it the road they abandoned from Osogbo to Ikirun which I have already done? After the election, we will start the second phase and take it to the Kwara border. Are you talking about the 332 wards in the state that we have provided water? We sunk boreholes for them, we provided free healthcare among others. I have directed the immediate release of bonds. All salary arrears of the contributory pensioners will be paid.
There had been pockets of crises, attacks and killings in some parts of Osun. What are you doing to improve security in the state?
When you compare Osun with other states in terms of security, I think we are doing very well. I held the first state Security Council meeting and we have agreed to solve all those challenges. Service Commanders are all on top of those issues. We sat down and we strategized and you know you don’t expect me to be giving you our strategies and that’s why you have low incidents during the last election. Whatever the security chiefs need to protect the state, we have it. I will not tolerate any thuggery or fighting whatsoever before, during and after the general elections. I call the Service Commanders all the time and they brief me, my lines are open. Even if I am having a meeting and see their missed calls, I will call them back immediately because as the Chief Security Officer, I am on top of the situation.
There has been this rumour that you are planning defect to the APC following the victory of Bola Tinubu as President-elect of Nigeria?
You know that’s their wish. They want me to come over there. The rumour is unfounded. I dey kampe in PDP. I can’t do that and I can’t betray my people. Well, I am happy that they declared him as President-elect, but I am the commander here in Osun State. It’s a federation and everyone has his jobs to do. You know APC is good at propaganda and that’s their job.
“You know that’s their wish. They want me to come over there. The rumour is unfounded. I dey kampe in PDP. I can’t do that and I can’t betray my people. Well, I am happy that they declared him as President-elect, but I am the commander here in Osun State. It’s a federation and everyone has his jobs to do. You know APC is good at propaganda and that’s their job”
You have not appointed your cabinet members. When should Osun people expect you to name your Commissioners and Special Advisers?
We are working on it. I am a very careful person. I want the best for my state and I want to make sure that I pick the best. I already have committees and I have penned down names that I cannot announce now but we are working on it. There are so many problems we are solving currently. I can’t give you any time when I will announce the cabinet members, I like surprises.
What’s your relationship with the State House of Assembly?
When I was inaugurated, I visited them and told them that I am a governor for all. Our relationship has been very cordial. The Speaker and other members visited me at the Governor’s Office and commended me saying I am doing a good job. So, it has been very cordial and it will continue like that.
You have set up some committees to investigate some of the crises you met in the state. Have they submitted reports and how long should Osun people wait for decisions?
Yes, the committees have been submitting their reports and I have been going through them. After this, we will release the White Paper. We are only waiting for the Solid Minerals report and after the election, I will receive it.
What is the fate of workers employed by the last administration?
The White Paper will spell it out. I am still studying it to know what’s happening in that area. I am not going to cheat anybody.
Has your administration stopped the operation of the University of Ilesa?
I am not stopping it at all. When the White Paper is released, the people of the state will know our plans on it.
