The Media Aide to the Osun State Governor, Oluwaseyi Adeniyi, has said that the administration of Ademola Adeleke inherited numerous challenges when it assumed office on November 27, 2022, including salary arrears, pension backlog, poor infrastructure and a weakened civil service.
Speaking on the performance of the government on insightful moments with Jare Tiamiyu on Friday in Osogbo , the aide said the administration had since taken decisive steps to correct the problems and improve governance in the state.
“Before this administration came in, there were a lot of issues regarding the governance of the state,” Peter said. “Civil servants were being owed half salaries, pensioners were denied their entitlements and there was a huge deficit in infrastructure across the state.”
According to him, Governor Adeleke had promised to address the challenges immediately after assuming office.
“Mr. Governor promised that once he came in he was going to change these anomalies, and today we can say categorically that the administration has done fantastically well,” he said.
Adeniyi explained that the government began by reforming the civil service through merit-based appointments of permanent secretaries to head ministries and agencies.
“When we came in, we overhauled the civil service by appointing qualified permanent secretaries based on merit,” he said.
“Before we came in, what existed was a system of coordinating directors, which is alien to civil service rules. The dream of many civil servants to reach the peak of their career as permanent secretaries had been suppressed, but this administration restored that process.”
The media aide said the government also began clearing salary and pension arrears owed by previous administrations.
“Our pensioners who were owed several months of their entitlements are now being paid,” he stated. “Today, civil servants and pensioners in Osun are receiving their entitlements.”
He further revealed that retirees had been enrolled in the Osun Health Insurance Scheme to enable them access free healthcare.
“When people reach the age of 60, they often have health challenges,” he said. “Instead of pensioners using their little stipends to buy drugs, the government enrolled them into the health insurance scheme free of charge so they can access healthcare without paying a dime.”
On workers’ welfare, Adeniyi noted that the administration had addressed long-standing promotion issues affecting civil servants.
“For about eight years some workers were stagnated without promotion,” he said. “This government has regularised the system and the governor recently approved the commencement of promotion exercises for those due for advancement.”
The aide also highlighted infrastructure development, stating that the administration had completed more than 350 kilometres of road projects across the state within three years.
“In the first 100 days, the governor ensured that road projects were executed in each of the nine federal constituencies,” he said. “As we speak today, over 350 kilometres of roads have been completed.”
He cited projects in Ilesa, Ila and Iwo, including the dualisation of major roads and other ongoing construction works.
“For example, the first dualised road in Ilesa from Ereja Square to the brewery area was done by this government,” he said. “In Ila, the double carriageway leading to the college area is also being constructed, while work is ongoing on major roads in Iwo.”
The governor’s aide also dismissed claims that the number of political appointees in government was higher than the number of teachers recruited.
“That claim is not correct,” he said. “The teacher recruitment exercise started over a year ago and appointment letters are already being issued to successful candidates.”
He attributed some delays in recruitment to the withholding of local government allocations, explaining that salaries of primary school teachers are paid from local government funds.
“The withholding of Osun local government allocation has affected the pace of some programmes, including teacher recruitment,” he said.
In the health sector, he said the government’s Imole Medical Outreach programme had provided free healthcare services to thousands of residents.
“Over 80,000 people have benefited from the outreach, including those who received free surgeries for conditions such as cataracts,” Peter said.
The aide added that inmates in correctional facilities across the state had also been enrolled in the Osun Health Insurance Scheme.
“This government ensured that inmates are registered in the health insurance scheme free of charge so they can access healthcare whenever they need it,” he said.
On agriculture, he said the administration had revived mechanised farming by providing tractors for farmers across local government areas.
“Gone are the days when farmers rely solely on cutlasses,” he said. “Tractors have been distributed across local governments and they are already working on farms.”
Adeniyi further claimed that despite financial challenges, the state government had not taken new loans.
“As of this morning, this government has not borrowed a dime,” he said. “Yet we are still running the government, paying workers and executing projects.”
He also called for improved cooperation between security agencies and the Amotekun Corps to strengthen security across the state.
“Security is very important, especially as the state moves closer to another election period,” he said. “We appeal to security agencies to remain professional and work together to maintain peace.”
The media aide maintained that the achievements of the administration were visible across the state.
“If you left Osogbo a few years ago and return today, you will notice the changes in infrastructure and development,” he said. “The projects speak for themselves.”
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