APC, CSO fault Governor for appointing nephew, brother’s wife

The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has criticised Governor Ademola Adeleke for appointing his nephew, Tunji Adeleke (Jnr), as the Chairman of the Local Government Service Commission, describing it as a clear case of nepotism.

In a statement in Osogbo on Friday signed by the state APC Chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, the party, said putting Adeleke (Jnr), a 2021 graduate of Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State, in charge of a sensitive organ of government was uncalled for.

It added, “A boy who has never worked before, who goes about in dreadlock, is the person that Adeleke in his estimation appointed to direct the affairs of our Osun State local government service commission.”

Similarly, a civil society group, Centre for Public Accountability, faulted the appointments of Adeleke’s family members into public offices in the state, saying several qualified people in the state could have been considered.

A statement by the Programme Officer of the group, Ayo Ologun, added, “In a state like Osun where there is a plethora of capable hands and individuals who have excelled in their various fields of endeavours, the governor chose to appoint himself as the Commissioner for Works, his late brother’s wife, Mrs Folashade Adeleke as Commissioner for Federal Matters, his nephew who managed to graduate in 2021 from the family’s university (Adeleke University, Ede) after 10 years in school spanning various institutions as Chairman of the Local Government Service Commission, one of the most significant commissions for recruitment and social welfare in the state.”

But the governor’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, described the APC criticism over the appointments as illogical.

He said, “The frequent illogical attacks on appointees of Governor Ademola Adeleke by the Osun APC  is a reflection of an APC that is battered and factionalized beyond repairs and grappling with every straw to reassert lost relevance and acceptability among the good people of Osun State.

“The commissioners and chairmen of boards are eminently qualified in all ramifications and they are poised to deliver on good governance.”