Adeleke’s Deputy Accused Of Sabotaging Sports In Osun
The Osun State Government may face a massive protest in the coming days from the staff members of the state Sports Council, OSUN DEFENDER gathered.
The protest, according to findings by the medium is imminent due to the attitude of the Deputy Governor of the state, Prince Kola Adewusi ahead of the National Youth Games scheduled for September 9-19, 2024 in Asaba, Delta State.
Investigation by OSUN DEFENDER revealed that few days to the commencement of the competition, fund is yet to be released to the sports council from the office of the deputy governor who is also the coordinating commissioner for sports in the state.
According to sources within the council, the file for the competition has been sent to Adewusi but it is yet to be forwarded to Governor Ademola Adeleke for approval among other files.
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Prince Adewusi was also accused of deducting money earmarked for the development of sports in the state as commissioner for sports and not given other sports priority aside tennis.
A source who spoke under the condition of anonymity told OSUN DEFENDER on Saturday that the activities of the deputy governor has been crippling sports in the state calling for the urgent intervention of Governor Adeleke.
The source maintained that Adewusi has always been complaining that the state does not have money to promote sports.
“The Osun State Sports Council is really in a deep mess. As we are preparing for the National Youth Game coming up in Asaba, Delta State which is slated between September 9-19, 2024, we are yet to receive our Duty Tour Allowance (DTA) from the state government.
“We learnt that the deputy governor who also doubled as commissioner for sports has not passed the file to the governor for approval.
“Meanwhile, the file has been with him for long. Also, there also other files he ought to have sent to the governor for his approval.
“The sports council has not been enjoying him since he took over the leadership of the sports ministry. From the little money released, instead paying N25,000, he reduced it to N12,000, N30,000 to N17,000 and N120,000 instead of N200,000 while claiming the state is broke.
“Since he was appointed to oversee the affairs of sports in the state, he has never for once taken any file to the governor on our behalf for approval.
“He has not been doing well at all. We may resort to protest if the state government does not listen to our plight before Monday,” the source said.
Another staff of the sports council while speaking with OSUN DEFENDER also berated the deputy governor, saying the governor should wade in before he dents the image of his administration.
The staff said Prince Adewusi told both Directors and General Manager of the sports council to source for fund on their own ahead of the National Youths game.
He said: “The action of the deputy governor is becoming worrisome. We have not been enjoying all we ought to have since his inception in office.
“We also learnt that he approved the budget for tennis alone because he is a tennis sport lover. Prince Adewusi has also failed to approve the permanent employment of our contract staff who have been working with the council since 2012.
“In football, both male and female qualified during the zonal elimination game but the state said both teams cannot go because of fund.
“So, the girls have been dropped and instead of two coaches for each sport, only one was approved for each competition because they do not want to finance the whole team.”
All efforts to get the reaction of deputy governor through his Chief Press Secretary, Goke Awoyemi proved abortive as failed to answer phone calls and terse message sent to his line at the time of filing this report.
Yusuf Oketola is a trained journalist with over five years of experience in the media industry. He has worked for both print and online medium. He is a thorough-bred professional with an eye of hindsight on issues bothering on social justice, purposeful leadership, and a society where the leaders charge and work for the prosperity of the people.
