Adeleke Absent While Osun Faces Security Worries, Says APC Chairman

 

The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused Governor Ademola Adeleke of abandoning his responsibilities at a time the state is grappling with rising security concerns.

APC Chairman, Sooko Tajudeen Lawal, in a statement on Saturday, said the party had “almost given up on the series of persistent missteps and misgovernance” that he claimed have defined Adeleke’s three-year administration.

Lawal said Governor Adeleke’s conduct since taking office in November 2022 suggests that he is “either not prepared for governance or grossly lacking the capacity to manage a complex state like Osun.”

According to him, the governor appears more fascinated by the glamour of office than the responsibility it carries.
“It is strange that each time Osun is facing serious challenges, Governor Adeleke is seen dancing away his time or travelling for private engagements,” Lawal said.

He criticised the governor’s latest trip to Texas, United States, for a birthday celebration at a period when insecurity is escalating in neighbouring Kwara State.
“While other governors are working to prevent banditry from seeping into their states, our own Governor Adeleke is busy frolicking abroad under the guise of attending a family event,” he added.

Lawal recalled that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently postponed a scheduled trip to South Africa to attend to rising insecurity, noting that leadership demands prioritising public safety.
“It is disappointing that Governor Adeleke cannot make a similar sacrifice,” he said.

He further alleged that Adeleke had travelled to the U.S. at least six times this year, using public funds that should have been channelled into education, health and other critical sectors. He added that governance at the grassroots level had been paralysed for eight months without any meaningful intervention from the governor.

The APC chairman also decried the two-month strike by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), which has shut down courts across the state.
“The courts are locked, justice is suspended for nearly five million residents, and yet the governor keeps moving from Osogbo to Lagos, Abuja and then overseas without addressing the crisis,” he said.

Lawal urged residents to remain patient, saying relief would come at the next governorship election.
“We plead with the good people of Osun to endure until a government that genuinely cares for them emerges next August,” he said.

He advised citizens to take responsibility for their personal safety, warning:
“It is now clear that the current administration does not care about the security of the people.”