Recalling Governor Adeleke's copious failed promises, By Waheed Adekunle

Precisely on October 5, 2023, at the maiden edition of Osun State Government Public Enlightenment Programme tagged *Ipade - Imole*, the incumbent governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke, made several sensational promises to impress the audience particularly the revered traditional rulers, elites' groups, members of the professional bodies, journalists, artisans and political sycophants in attendance. 

Governor Adeleke who couldn't hide his curiosity to sensationalism confirmed the receipt of two billion naira (2,000,0000,000:00) received as a palliative grant from the Federal Government led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. However, the Governor having admitted the fact that the pronouncement of the fund was borne out of the consistent agitations from the main opposition party in the state, the All Progressives Congress (APC), to disclose the source of the fund, spontaneously and emphatically promised to spend the fund on three key sectors and projects, part of which was a promise made to procure mass transit buses to complement the then yet-to-be-refurbished rickety Omoluabi Scholar Buses bought by Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola's administration in 2012. 

It is quite unfortunate that up until now, Governor Adeleke has failed to purchase a single bus let alone 10 or 20 mass transit buses for public use, instead, the government has been running abysmally with the repainted buses that have been constituting nuisance in public space due to their state of inviability. One would have expected a serious government running by genuine and compassionate individual to have judiciously used the said fund to ameliorate and lessen the hardship occasioned by the subsidy removal for which the fund was freely given. 

In the same breathe, the state governor confirmed the receipt of another N7 billion refund from the Federal Government given to all the states including Osun as part of the proceeds of subsidy removal. But lo and behold, nothing has been accounted for as to how the fund was expended. Instead, the Adeleke government resolved to repainting of security vehicles, the 20 units of Armoured Personnel Carriers procured and used by the Governor Rauf Aregbesola administration allegedly claimed to have been launched as an achievement made by his administration. 

Till the present moment, no single bus was purchased by the Adeleke government inspite of the humongous funds available to the current government. Moving a bit from there, Governor Adeleke who boldy claimed during the electioneering campaign to pay all the backlog salary and pension arrears owed the state workers by the administration of former Governor Aregbesola within six months of coming into office has practically failed to 'walk-his-talk'. 

As I write, going to three years in office, the government is yet to fulfill the promise he made, rather, it has resolved to peanuts in payment with the aim of using the gimmick to canvass support and votes from the susceptible workers despite the crazy allocation to the tune of an average of 11billion naira on monthly basis for the state and over 11billion naira for the 30 Local Governments making over 22 billion naira being received by the Adeleke government on monthly basis in the last two and half years. 

At the venue of the said programme, the governor also promised that Procurement Order had been made to purchase additional foodstuffs to complement the free foods palliative given to Osun State by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Federal Government. But lo and behold, the masses, particularly the poorest received nothing as same was allegedly shared and distributed between and among the Adeleke party followers and loyalists. 

It is on record that Governor Adeleke's Information Commissioner, Barrister Kolapo Alimi, was on a radio programme where he strikingly disclosed the receipt of 17,000 bags of 50kg rice; 3,000 bags of 50kg maize, gari and other staple foods donated to Osun State by the Federal Government. But it's quite disheartening, the same had disappeared into the thin air as no one knows the whereabouts of the palliative except the PDP loyalists in whom the beneficiaries were made. 

This same day, the governor who promised to bring local and foreign investors to the state is yet to fulfill the promise. No single investor - either local or foreign has seen good reason to partner the government. Fact for this is not farfetched - no one partners unproductive system that has no value addition. 

On the teachers' recruitment, the governor emphatically stated that: "teachers' shortage in schools: I have directed the ministry of education to conduct the need assessment as a basis for recruitment and filling of vacancies in the schools. I believe the report will soon be ready. Our government is also committed on the report of the education summit". This is a statement made in 2023. What a pitiable situation! Up until now, no single teacher has been recruited to any school despite the fact that teachers retired virtually every now and then in public schools across the state. History will not forget in a jiffy, the miserable dismissal and sack of  gainfully employed teachers recruitted by the erstwhile Governor Adegboyega Oyetola but obnoxiously sacked by the current government.

Instead of making corrections on the palpable unpardonable blunders at the corridor of power, the Adeleke government has been paying a lip service to hoodwink the public into believing in cosmetic intervention that has yielded no positive impact in the lives of the populace. It is quite unfortunate and heartacheing that up until now, the promise made by Governor Adeleke on digital economy, where billions of naira earmarked is yet to see the light of day.

Another failed promise made by the Adeleke government is the much touted *Imole Housing Estate* where 500-unit house scheme par Federal Constituency was purportedly claimed to have been planned for execution from the free money gotten from the fuel subsidy removal since 2023. This only exists on paper not in reality as workers till tomorrow still struggle for survival- seeking for soft and hard loan to meet basic needs particularly shelters. Where is audio Imole Housing Estate and who have benefitted from the scheme? This is a pertinent question for Adeleke's government to answer. 

Similarly, the promise made on mining sector is yet to be fulfilled, instead, the state has been paying a lip service in that regard as the Internally Generated Revenue, IGR of the state remains the least in the entire Southwest geo-political zone. Verifiable records of National Bureau of Statistics are enough to prove this assertion without ambiguity. 

Osun people are yet to see the touted 114 tractors that Adeleke's government claimed to have purchased with whooping sum of 8billion naira- our Commonwealth. The infrastructure projects of substandard materials and poorly executed are wearing away in their presence - the separate occurrences in Aduramigba Community of Ido-Osun in Egbedore Local Government, Unilesa premises, Isale-Osun among other places are testaments to the penchant of Adeleke's government to inferiority. 

Is it the inflated and frontloaded numerics in the second phrase of infrastructure plan unveiled by the government one wants to analyze or the incomplete and abysmally executed projects of the first infra-plan where out of five flyovers promised, only three were deficiently embarked on with outrageous contract sums? Till tomorrow, Ikirun people are awaiting the much touted flyover captured in the first phrase of Adeleke's infra-plan, likewise Owode-Ede community, an outskirt of Governor  Adeleke's countryhome. Citizens are not surprised, the trademark of the current government in Osun is nothing but falsehood and propaganda, there are indices to this and part of which are aforementioned. 

It is pathetic that the Adeleke's government that unveiled the self-satisfied and politically motivated 100billion naira infra plan in 2023 couldn't deliver the embedded- sordid-project yet unveiled another phrase of 159billion naira which the opposition party - the All Progressives Congress later punctured and came up with infractions in the numerics cheaply sold to the unsuspecting members of the public by the Adeleke's aides. It is on record that about 47billion naira was discovered as excess in the figure deliberately reeled out by the government as to what intended to use the humongous resources for. The facts are there for anyone to factcheck. One could remember that the total sum of the self-serving projects was just a little amount above 111billion naira as against 159billion claby pimed by the government. Honestly, one doesn't need a mathematician to know the obvious impropriety. Till tomorrow, government is yet to update the masses on its expedition and expenditure in this regard, instead, second term ambition has overtaken the much needed governance in the state forgetting that its unpardonable and unforgettable anomalies will speak volume against the return of PDP government come 2026.

Osun citizens particularly discerning minds are gathering data for dispassionate comparative analysis of the strengths of the previous administrations of APC government and the weaknesses of the current one vis-a-vis the social security and social intervention programmes introduced and nurtured by previous governments but outrightly scrapped by the Adeleke's government. 

Over 10billion naira Okefia flyover, over 8billion naira- -Lameco flyover, over 5.8billion naira- Old garage- Lameco 2.21km road, 14.9billion naira Ife flyover, over 16.5billion naira Ilesa road, over 23billion - Akoda-Oke-gada road among other inflated projects are fresh in public psyches awaiting judgment through ballot. 

The sack of health workers in their numbers, sack of OYES cadets in their thousands, sack of food vendors popularly called O'MEAL, sack of traditional rulers, attempted removal of Osun Chief Judge, successful removal of Rector, Osun State Polytechnic, Iree vis-a-vis the procedural infractions on the installation of Ede-born crony, mismanagement of the public funds where billions of naira was voted and expended in Governor's Office without convincing justification among others would show the way come 2026. 

No doubt, the time has come to challenge the incumbent Governor  Adeleke and his team on the whereabouts of the over N600 billion received as allocations on behalf of the state and 30 Local Government Areas and Ife-East Area Office, Modakeke. 

The time of reckoning beckons as posterity awaits everyone in due course.

May God heal our land!