Says development on boreholes vindicated – TOM
State Govt reacts to Group’s claims
The Osun Masterminds has criticised the administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke as been unfair to women and youths by not including them in the recently released names of Commissioners and Special Advisers.
The Executive Director of the Civil Society Group, Professor Wasiu Oyedokun-Alli stated this during the July edition of the State of the State address in Osogbo on Monday.
He said “We note with great disappointment that the Osun State Government, under Senator Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke, has not been fair to the Women population in our dear State”.
“We first noted this lopsidedness when the House of Assembly was inaugurated in June. All twenty-six Members of the House are surprisingly men, in a State where women have been known to play important roles in the political and governance process”.
“From Governor, to Deputy Governor, to Secretary to the State Government and to the Chief of Staff, none is female.
To further deepen our fears about the Adeleke government’s wrong handling of the gender inclusion topic, only two women made list of twenty-five Commissioner nominees in an urbane State like ours. This translates to many steps backward in the country’s pursuit of a gender-balanced public service”, he averred.
“Are the prestigious women of the State not qualified to be in positions of governance? Are they just good as political cheerleaders, to dance and sing at rallies”, he questioned.
He stated that the government must do better to reassure the female population in Osun State and the global community, that it does not hate women and will give them prominent roles to play in government.
Similarly, The group reiterated that the number of nominees for the post of Commissioners are more than the number of the Ministries in the State, adding that there will be financial leakages that will hinder the growth of the State.
“The State cannot afford such financial burden and the Governor must not allow himself be so pressured by political actors that he will slaughter fiscal discipline on the altar of political patronage”, he explained.
Addressing the boreholes projects, it can be recalled that there were power challenges that hindered the full implementation of the boreholes across the State, and the State Government provided solutions to the problems by providing 332 generating sets to power the boreholes.
“The permanent solution that the Spokesperson talked about, is clearly the purchase of 332 generating sets that the State Government recently distributed to all the wards.
“Proactive governments globally are seeking cleaner sources of energy, our State Government is pushing 332 more Generators into the State to power boreholes that could have been solar-powered.
“The implementation has even made things worse, raising new questions of sustainability and longevity. Who will be responsible for powering a collectively owned generator? Who will pay for mechanical faults? In whose custody will the generator for each ward be?”.
They urged the State Government to Provide answers to these questions and a suitable solution for the residents to enjoy the privilege of the boreholes projects.
The Group also commended the Governor for his commitment to implement palliative measures to alleviate the impact of petrol subsidy removal, emphasizing the importance of effective implementation for the benefit of the people.
Reacting to the claims laid by the Civil Society Organization, the Governor through his Spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed said the State Government has commenced rehabilitation of water works across the state.
“The Osun state government is already rehabilitating water works in major towns of the state while the 332 boreholes are emergency intervention projects to address acute water shortage in the State”.
Also addressing the Cabinet’s list, he reiterated that it was too early to judge the administration on gender and affirmative action as less than 10 percent of statutory appointments have been made.
He also affirmed that On Ipade Imole, the public should be assured that the public accountability platform will be held. And all stakeholders will be invited to the event.
Similarly, Governor Adeleke reaffirmed his resolve to continue to address developmental questions affecting the capital city and other towns and villages in the state.
