The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has issued a strong rebuttal following recent remarks by the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, who described the administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke as "phenomenal."
In a statement released on Wednesday and signed by the party’s Director of Media and Information, Mr. Kola Olabisi, the Osun APC dismissed the commendation as “misguided and based on insufficient information.”
The party alleged that Gbajabiamila’s visit to the state was orchestrated in a way that prevented him from interacting with critical stakeholders who could have provided a more balanced and accurate assessment of the administration’s performance.
“If the stakeholders had been given an opportunity to engage with the Chief of Staff, we are confident that the outspoken Gbajabiamila would have seen through the façade and recognized Governor Adeleke for what he truly is — a monumental failure,” the statement read.
The APC outlined several grievances against the Adeleke-led government, notably the administration’s failure to address key vacancies in the education and healthcare sectors.
The party claimed that nearly three years after the governor sacked over 1,500 teachers, hundreds of healthcare workers, and more than 20,000 cadets of the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES), there has been no attempt to fill those vacancies, leading to significant disruptions in essential services.
The opposition party further criticized what it described as deteriorating standards in public education and substandard infrastructure projects across the state.
Citing reports by a local media outlet, Rave FM, the APC claimed that the state's education system has suffered significant decline under Adeleke’s leadership.
The party also questioned the government’s fiscal priorities, alleging that over N55 billion had been spent on what it termed "lifestyle expenses," while failing to employ a single teacher or address urgent governance issues.
“How can a government that has spent N55 billion on luxury, entertainment, and personal upkeep, but failed to recruit a single teacher into its public schools, be described as ‘phenomenal’?” Olabisi queried.
“This is the same administration that charged application fees to unemployed youths, yet has not fulfilled its promise to create jobs.”
Additionally, the APC accused Governor Adeleke of undermining the rule of law by refusing to implement court rulings regarding the reinstatement of local government chairmen and councillors from the previous administration.
The party noted that all local government council areas in the state have been effectively shut down for over three months, a situation it described as unconstitutional and detrimental to grassroots governance.
“A governor who selectively obeys court rulings and undermines the judiciary cannot, by any measure, be considered to be performing phenomenally,” Olabisi stated.
The statement concludes by calling on national leaders and visiting dignitaries to seek broader engagement with stakeholders before publicly endorsing state administrations, so as to avoid what it called “misleading praise” that could distort the realities on ground.
