Of Governor Adeleke’s Cabinet Members

Kazeem Badmus

GOVERNOR Ademola Adeleke of Osun State on Wednesday, July 20, 2023, sworn-in 25 cabinet members and allocated portfolios to them. Governor also appointed some individuals to head government agencies and parastatals. 

The appointments, as expected have been generating reactions from members of the public. The first call of attraction is the inclusion of members of the Adeleke family in the government, starting from commissioner to Chairman of government agency. 

While Adeleke declared at the swearing-in of the commissioners that he will head the Ministry of Works, the governor appointed one of his late brother’s wives, Mrs Adenike Adeleke as the Commissioner for Federal Affairs. His nephew, Tunji Adeleke, was also appointed the Chairman of Local Government Service Commission. This has received condemnations from people who are wondering why the governor would pocket three sensitive offices while local governments like Ifelodun, Ayedire, Orolu do not have any commissioner. 

Besides, the deputy governor, Prince Kola Adewusi would be in charge of the Ministry of Sports and Special Needs. The political arrangement for the distribution of Adeleke’s cabinet members seems untidy, according to analysts. For others, each of the local government where Adeleke won in July 16, 2022 governor election deserves to have representative in his cabinet.  

It was also noted that lawyers were appointed to head Ministry of Information and Public Orientation (Kolapo Alimi), Health (Sola Akintola) and local government and chieftaincy affairs (Dosu Babatunde). Some members of the public have expressed doubt on the performance of the commissioners at their various ministries, describing it as a square peg in a round hole.

It should be noted that this is not the first time a lawyer will be appointed to head the Health ministry. Barr. Niyi Owolade was the commissioner for health under Chief Bisi Akande’s administration. 

A new Ministry, ‘Energy’ was created with Hon. Festus Adeyemo heading it. Going by it name, the ministry is expected to oversee issues that has to do with generation of power and distribution of electricity, though the mandate of the ministry has not been made known to the public.

The All Progressives Congress in the state reacted to the formation of Adeleke’s cabinet, saying it shows clear cases of putting some square pegs in the round holes, which would result in an imminent monumental catastrophe.

State Chairman of the APC, Sooko Tajudeen Lawal, in a statement issued by the party’s Director of Media and Information, Chief Kola Olabisi, in Osogbo on Thursday, also noted that greed and unwillingness for accountability and probity in the office was the reason the Governor appointed himself the commissioner for works.

The party also berated the Governor for appointing his deputy as a commissioner. But the APC has a precedence for this. Former deputy governor Titi Laoye-Ponle was in charge of Ministry of Eduation during Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola’s first term as governor. 

The statement further read: “The prerogative of the governor to put lawyers in charge of the ministry of education and health is fraught with admissible reasons to any right-thinking members of the society”.

Speaking with the medium, a political analyst, Femi Babasola noted that the public will be watching Adeleke and the other commissioners on their performance.

According to Babasola, Ministries like Health, Education, Finance and Works will be in the spotlight with some people already calling into question, the capacity of those heading them. 

Babasola appealed to the residents to support the commissioners in the discharge of their duties.