Senator Ademola Adeleke on November 27, 2023, marked one year in office as the 6th civilian Governor of Osun State.
The Governor who dislodged the opposition All Progressives Congress 12 years reign in the state by defeating his predecessor, Mr Gboyega Oyetola, has faced criticisms from some quarters about his style of governance.
The major critique of the current administration is the opposition APC who believed the administration of Adelelek was the worst the State has ever had.
A statement by the state APC Chairman, Mr Tajudeen Lawal, on the first anniversary of Adeleke, noted that the state has been run aground by the Governor since he took the mantle of leadership on November 27, 2022.
Lawal accused the administration of Adeleke of mismanaging the revenue accrued to the state in the last year.
But Adeleke, in a statement signed by his spokesperson, Rasheed, declared that his administration surpassed the annual good governance target it set while assuming office.
Meanwhile, residents of the state have voiced their opinion on the one year in office of Governor Adeleke.
The residents who responded through an online survey conducted by Osun Defender pointed out where the Governor is doing alright and where changes are needed. The survey which ran for 5 days was basically for information gathering.
In the online survey, 97.7% of the respondents were registered voters in Osun.
Overall Performance in One Year
Giving an account of his stewardship in one year, Adeleke said, “We focused on the health sector through Imole medical outreach which provides immediate surgeries with over 50,000 beneficiaries so far. We address the welfare needs of doctors and we have selected 345 health centers in the state for complete rehabilitation.
“In science and technology, we introduced a digital economy agenda with new ICT and tech innovations policies. We developed a bill to domesticate the Nigeria Startup Act and launched programmes to deepen internet penetration of the state through broadband fibre optic projects. I reformed the public service by ensuring professionalism. I launched a phased payment of inherited pension and half salary debt. I just enrolled all pensioners in the health insurance scheme. We have done a lot in just under one year.”
Asked to rate the overall performance of Governor Ademola Adeleke in his first year in office on a scale of 1-10, 54 of the 171 respondents representing (31.6%) picked 10, 30 respondents representing (17.5%) gave him 1 over 10, 17 respondents representing (9.9%) rated the administration 2 out of 10 while 13 respondent representing (7.6%) gave the administration 3 over 10.
Also, 8 respondents representing (4.7%) rated the government 4 over 10, 5 respondents representing (2.9%) scored the administration 5 out of 10, and 3 respondents representing (1.8%) gave the administration 6 out of 10.
9 respondents representing (5.3%) scored Adelekes Administration 7 out of 10 with 16 respondents representing (9.4%) scoring the administration 8 and 9 out of 10.
Communication
The administration has commenced the Senatorial town hall meeting which serves as a means of interacting with the residents of the state.
On the level of communication between the government and the public, 45% of the respondents said the administration is Open and Transparent in its communication with the public.
14.6% of respondents believed the communication was Insufficient, while 12.3% said the communication was Adequate.
19.9% of the respondents believed that the communication level between the government and the public is Poor while 8.2% of the respondents said there was a Lack of Communication.
Infrastructure
The current administration said it has reconstructed a total of 90 kilometers of roads with another 45 kilometers ongoing.
It has also said it has completed key intercity roads like the Ikirun-Osogbo road while Iwo-Osogbo is ongoing.
Asked about their level of satisfaction with the infrastructure development in the state,33.3% of the respondents said they were Very Satisfied while 25.7% picked Satisfied with the infrastructure development in the state.
Meanwhile, 15.2% of the respondents said they were Dissatisfied with 14.6% of respondents saying they were Very Dissatisfied .11.1% of respondents were Neutral in that aspect.
Education, Healthcare and Security
In the area of Education, the state government said it has rehabilitated 31 schools with another 31 in the pipeline.
The government also said it focused on the health sector through Imole medical outreach which provides immediate surgeries with over 50 000 beneficiaries so far, adding that it addresses the welfare needs of doctors and has selected 345 health centres in the state for complete rehabilitation.
Of the respondents, 57.9% think Governor Adeleke has effectively addressed key issues
such as education, healthcare, and security in the state while 42.1% said the issues have not been addressed by the Governor.
Campaign Promises
One of the key promises during the campaign period was the payment of arrears of salaries and pensions.
On the fulfilment of campaign promises, 39.8% of the respondents said Adeleke had mostly fulfilled all his promises, and 14% said he had Completely Fulfilled his promises.
While 19.9% of the respondents said the Governor has Partially Fulfilled his campaign promises, 26.3% of the respondents said Adeleke has Not Fulfilled any of his campaign promises.
Transparency
One of the issues facing the current administration is in the area of transparency with some believing the Governor is not transparent enough in his handling of the state funds.
But the government through the Commissioner for Information, Kolapo Alimi and the spokesperson to the Governor, Rasheed Olawale, have always maintained that Adeleke is transparent in his handling of the state resources.
Meanwhile, 36.3% of the respondents rated Adeleke Excellent in the transparency and accountability in managing public funds.
9.3% of the respondents said it is Good, 11.7% went for Average, 12.9% said it is Poor and 19.9% said it is Very Poor.
Asked if they would vote again for Governor Adeleke if elections were to hold tomorrow, 53.3% of the respondents said Yes, 32.9% went for No while 13.8% of the respondents preferred not to answer.
In the survey, a majority of respondents expressed satisfaction with the administration of Senator Ademola Adeleke. Nevertheless, there exists a significant portion of the population unconvinced by his administration, indicating that the Governor faces the task of altering their perspectives.
It is noteworthy that the survey ensured respondents cut across a diverse representation of the Osun population, which includes but is not limited to civil servants, politicians from different political affiliations, students, market women, and media practitioners, among many others.
Kazeem Badmus is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience. A professional in journalism and media writing, Kazeem prioritses accuracy and factual reportage of issues. He is also a dexterous finder of the truth with conscious delivery of unbiased and development oriented stories.
