Osun State governor-elect, Senator Ademola Adeleke, on Monday alleged plans by the incumbent governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, to appoint his cronies as Permanent Secretaries.
The allegation, contained in a statement signed by Olawale Rasheed, the spokesperson for Adeleke, specifically alleged that the Oyetola-led administration planned to appoint 15 new permanent secretaries weeks before the end of his tenure.
It was further maintained that Adeleke, when he assumed reign, would re-assess the state of the bureaucracy in the state, to enforce due process and ensure appropriate placement of senior personnel into various positions through an open and merit-based process.
It partly read, “We note that Oyetola has been running the government with just about nine permanent secretaries for the past three and a half years. How he came up with the idea of increasing the number at the twilight of his administration’s tenure is still not clear.
“As an outgoing governor, it cannot be good-intentioned for you to appoint critical officials like permanent secretaries when a new leader is about to take over the administration of the state. The incoming governor has the right to determine the team he will work with. It should be clear that predetermining the makeup of the incoming government is an effort in futility.
“The outgoing governor’s decision is therefore in bad taste and a continuation of current efforts to destabilise the incoming administration.
“We also call on senior bureaucrats not to accept any Greek gift that may end up hurting their careers. To be forewarned is to be careful,” the statement concluded.
When contacted for reaction, Special Adviser to Osun Governor on Political Affairs, Sunday Akere, was quoted as saying, “It is unfortunate that the PDP seems not to know what is right and what is wrong. For goodness sake, the first term of Gov. Gboyega Oyetola ends at midnight on November 26, 2022.
“Whatever action or decision is taken by the governor is covered by the laws of the land. PDP should wait for their turn, if any and allow us to deliver on the mandate given to us by the people of Osun State.”
Meanwhile, the hearing of the petition emanating from the Osun July 16 governorship poll did not commence again on Monday following a disagreement between the parties on the mode of tendering documents before the panel.
The chairman of the panel, Justice Tertsea Kume, had adjourned the matter till Wednesday, October 26, for the commencement of the hearing.
Mr Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), who appeared with Mr Akinlolu Olujinmi (SAN), had informed the court of his plan to tender a document.
However, counsel to the 3rd respondent (the Peoples Democratic Party), Dr Alex Izinyon, said Fagbemi’s mode of tendering the document was at variance with paragraph 3 of the pre-hearing report, which mandated parties to file a list of witnesses 24 hours before the hearing.
Counsel to the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Paul Ananaba and counsel to Senator Ademola Adeleke, Mr Onyeachi Ikpeazu (SAN), also aligned with Izinyon.
Justice Kume then adjourned the matter till Tuesday.
