Executive orders, sack, dethronement: Adeleke dancing in the storm

By now, Governor Ademola Nurudeen Jackson Adeleke of Osun State must have learnt that governance is not a dancing matter.

Adeleke, who is famously known as Ade Dancer by his admirers, danced energetically and vigorously to Kizz Daniel’s popular song, Buga, to the admiration of the people on his first day in office.

However, the dance was followed by six executive orders which must have put an end to the music of many, including monarchs, permanent secretaries and all the workers employed by his predecessor, Gboyega Oyetola.

The orders signed by Adeleke covered chieftaincy matters, appointments issues, setting up of review panels, staff audit and employment matters.

Human Rights Lawyer Hails Adeleke For Rescinding Oyetola Actions After Election Loss

Executive orders, sack, dethronement: Adeleke dancing in the storm

The orders affirmed the reversal of appointments made by Oyetola and further sacking 12,000 workers said to have been illegally employed. Although Oyetola claimed he only employed less than 2,500 workers.

However, those sacked by Adeleke’s order include 30 permanent secretaries who were promoted to the position within a few hours to his swearing in as governor.

The governor also dethroned three monarchs whose installations were allegedly controversial.

The monarchs removed are the Akinrun of Ikinrun, Oba Yinusa Akadiri, the Aree of Ire, Oba Ademola Oluponle, and the Owa of Igbajo, Oba Gboyega Famodun – who was the state chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for almost six years before his appointment.

Adeleke told the monarchs to vacate their palaces immediately and instructed security operatives to take over the palaces.

The governor disclosed this in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Olawale Rasheed.

The statement reads in part: “All employment 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, are hereby nullified.

“Executive Order Number 5 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.

“In the case of Ikirun, Iree and Igbajo, to avoid further breakdown of law and order, the appointments of Akinrun of Ikinrun, Aree of Ire and Owa of Igbajo are hereby put on hold pending review. Subsequently, the palaces of Akinrun of Ikirun, Aree of Iree and Owa of Igbajo should remain unoccupied, while security agencies are hereby ordered to take charge.”

In specific terms, Executive Order 1 froze all government accounts in all banks and other financial institutions. Order 2 called for staff audit by the head of mdas, commissions, boards and parastatals. Order 3 nullified all employment made in any capacity into any capacity in all the ministries, departments, agencies, commissions, boards and parastatals after July 17. In like manner, Order 4 nullified all appointments made after July 17. Order 5 dealt with Chieftaincy Affairs and appointment of traditional rulers while Order 6 set up four review committees.

Another statement from the office of the Secretary to the State Government, Tesleem Igbalaye, announced the suspension of the Chairman of the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSIEC), Segun Oladitan, and his members: Yusuf Oyeniran, Suibat Adubi, Yinka Ajiboye, Abosede Omibeku, Dosu Gidigbi and Wahab Adewoyin.

The statement read that the suspension was sequel to several petitions bordering on financial impropriety, dereliction of duty, absenteeism, and abuse of office against the OSIEC chairman and members of the commission.

The order also abolished the “State of Osun” appellation. However, the House of Assembly said the Osun Anthem and the designation of Osun as State of the Virtuous remained legal as they were backed by relevant provisions enacted by the legislature and assented to by the governor in 2012.

The APC-led assembly also ordered a status quo on all local government administrations pending the exhaustion of all legal means.

The governor, on Monday, directed the most senior career heads across all the local government areas to take charge of the affairs of their respective councils with immediate effect following the nullification of the elections by a court.

However, the Speaker of the house, Timothy Owoeye, in a statement by his press secretary, Kunle Alabi, while briefing the members of the house on the outcome of the private meeting he held with Adeleke on Tuesday, informed them of a notice of appeal against the decision of a Federal High Court judgment served on the 7th Assembly.

Appointments, Jumat prayer

The governor also announced the appointment of Kazeem Akinleye as Chief of Staff (CoS), Teslim Igbalaye as SSG and Mallam Olawale Rasheed as CPS.

An Islmaic group, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), which earlier expressed doubts about the faith of the appointees, condemned it, stating that the appointment marginalised Christians in the state.

“It is in this spirit that we object to the appointment of the same three Muslims into the most prestigious offices by Governor Adeleke. Just as we argued yesterday, those three juicy posts should not have been given to Muslims since (and if) the governor himself is a Muslim,” Director of MURIC, Professor Ishaq Akintola, noted in a statement.

Adeleke, on Friday, joined other worshipers at the Osogbo Central Mosque to perform the Jumat prayer for the first time as executive governor of the state.

Addressing the congregation, Adeleke said his attendance was to fulfil his pledge that if he emerged victorious in the poll and was sworn in he would observe the first Jumat prayer in the mosque in appreciation of spiritual and political support.

He assured the congregants that he remained resolute in fulfilling all his electioneering promises, calling for more support to enable him to succeed in making life better for the citizenry.

Despite maintaining that he is a Muslim as indicated in his INEC form, many have questioned his faith, especially as he also appeared in churches during the campaign.

Debt, salary

During the week, Adeleke and his predecessor, Oyetola, also disagreed on the debt profile of the state.

Oyetola had earlier said he bequeathed N14bn cash to his successor, but Adeleke said Oyetola left N76bn debt for him.

Adeleke’s spokesperson, Rasheed, said the N76bn debt was arrears of salary and pension.

But Oyetola’s spokesperson, Ismail Omipidan, insisted that the past administration did not owe salary arrears.

NEC

Adeleke was also formally welcomed to the National Economic Council (NEC) on Thursday.

The council received briefings on the proposed Finance Bill 2022 and resolved to update the draft with additional inputs from governors as the bill goes ahead to the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, provided the key components of the bill to the council’s meeting presided over by its Chairman and Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo.

S/West PDP leader

With the swearing in of Adeleke on Sunday as Osun State Governor, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) now has two governors in the South West.

However, when the presidential candidate of the party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, flagged off his presidential campaign in the South West, Adeleke was the only governor from the zone who was in Akure.

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, is one of the five PDP governors known as the G5 involved in a rift with the party and its presidential candidate. The G5, who recently renamed their camp as the Integrity Group, have vowed not to campaign for Atiku.

With his outing on Tuesday, Adeleke has shown readiness to lead the party in the zone.

Motor park violence

Transport union workers have become major players in the politics of the South West and a change of guard in government houses often leads to change of guard at the motor parks.

Little wonder that as Ademola, the son of a union leader, Senator Ayoola Adeleke, danced into the Osun State Government House on Sunday, pro-PDP transport union leaders in the state sacked those sympathetic to APC and marched to the throne. In less than 72 hours, the pro-PDP touts put an end to the 12-year reign of the pro-APC touts.

As Adeleke begins his second week as the Governor of Osun state, he needs to settle down to the business of governance if he wants to weather the storm. He can’t get distracted from fulfilling his five-point agenda: clearing the state’s backlog of salaries and pensions, boosting the economy and enhancing a people-focused social policy through skill-based education, affordable healthcare, security and social security support, as well as agro-based industrialisation for wealth and job creation for youths and women.

There is no doubt that the task ahead of Adeleke is not a matter of dancing, especially considering the lean resources of the state amid the issues that he has inherited from his predecessor.