Senator Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was today sworn in as the 6th governor of Osun State alongside his deputy, Prince Kola Adewusi.
The oath of office was administered to the duo by the Osun State Chief Judge, Adepele Ojo.
In his acceptance speech, Adeleke said, “Today I stand on the podium of history with a sacred pledge to God and the good people of Osun State that my intellect, passion and strength will be devoted to nothing but the welfare, peace and security of our people. As I accept the mantle of leadership entrusted upon me by the people of our dear state, I am conscious of the enormous challenges and responsibilities ahead of me. And from the beginning of this hour, I will work day and night with deep sense of purpose to be a servant to you all.”
His words, “Our gathering here to witness the materialisation of a new era is not an accident of history. We are all programmed by the Almighty God to be what we have been, what we are and what will be in future.
“I am aware that my responsibility entails meeting the legitimate expectations of our people. I, therefore, promised that those expectations of workers, traders, artisans, farmers, business owners, students, pensioners, traditional and religious leaders and all residents of Osun State will be met by the grace of God and the cooperation of everybody.
“I will boldly correct all past injustices and corrupt acts and policies of any previous administrations which are against the collective interest of our people. Let me say here that from education, health, mining sector, agriculture, road infrastructure and supply of potable water, it is no longer going to be business as usual.”
The new Governor reserved the name of the state from the State of Osun to Osun State and established panels to review all the appointments made by the immediate past administration of APC from July 7, 2022, and to carry out inventory and recover government assets taken away.
“Let me, therefore, announce the immediate reverse to the status quo of all fresh appointments, placements and all other major decisions taken by the immediate past administration with effect from 7th of July 2022. I wish to assure all labour unions in the state of our administration’s willingness to protect workers’ interests and promote their welfare at all times. We will be labour friendly at all times”, he stressed.
He has also frozen all the government accounts in banks and other financial institutions.
Promising that his administration would demonstrate a high sense of transparency, justice and innovation to tackle and solve the problems of poverty, illiteracy, disease and poor infrastructure, he said, “Your governor will be a people’s governor. I will be accessible, responsive, consultative and proactive in handling the big matters of the state.”
He listed his five campaign development agendas that would be vigorously and meticulously implemented to include the welfare of the workers and pensioners, boosting of the state economy, homegrown infrastructure policy, people-focused policy on education, affordable health, care, security and social welfare, agro-based industrialisation for wealth and job creation.
Adeleke lamented the state of education in the state saying, “It is disheartening to see our state at the bottom of the national educational ratings, especially in public primary and secondary schools.”
Revealing that an emergency education conference would soon be convened to find a lasting solution to the education sector, he promised to tackle the problems confronting education and reverse the poor performance of students in public examinations within the next few weeks.
“To achieve this target, we will prioritise in-service training and welfare of teachers, enhancement of school environment, the entrenchment of discipline in the school system as well as the involvement of parent-teachers associations in our school administration system”, he said.
Adeleke also revealed his determination to ensure local government autonomy in line with the Nigerian constitution.
He said, “We will restore the lost glory of our local government in other to make them more responsive to the needs of the people. All policies that are not favourable to the growth and effective local government administration will be reviewed in accordance with the law. No form of illegality will be allowed to stand and all acts of impunity committed by the immediate past administration on local government administration will be reversed following due process.”
On security, Adeleke promised to embark on the security reform that would target crime prevention, detection, neighbourhood policing, and synergy among security agencies. “We will support police, DSS, civil defence and other security agencies to perform their statutory responsibilities. The Amotekun Corps will be strengthening”, he assured.
The Governor appealed to the residents to be patient for a few weeks to review and sort out necessary and important issues before hitting the ground running.
In attendance at the inauguration ceremony which took place at the main bowl of Osogbo City Stadium the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate and his running mate, Atiku Abubakar and Ifeanyi Okowa respectively, former Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, Godwin Obaseki, Emmanuel Udom, Aminu Tambuwal and Duoye Diri, governors of Edo, Akwa Ibom, Sokoto and Bayelsa respectively. Also Senator Rasheed Ladoja, Ayodele Fayose, and Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, former governors of Oyo, Ekiti and Osun, Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi and Timi of Ede, Oba Munirudeen Lawal, Wife of the PDP presidential candidate, Titi Atiku, Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, Erelu Olusola Obada and the family members of the new governor and his deputy.
