Gboyega Oyetola assumed office as the Governor of Osun State on November 27, 2019, succeeding Rauf Aregbesola, now Minister of Interior. Both men are of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the ceremony marked the first time in the history of the 31-year-old state that a governor would hand over to another elected on the platform of the same party.

In his inaugural speech, Mr Oyetola outlined what he would do over the next four years.

“To reposition the economy of our great state, we shall organise the Osun Economic Summit within the first quarter of our first year in office.

“The multi-stage, multi- stakeholders summit will dissect and recommend strategies which will drive meaningful youth employment, enhance food security, agricultural development, activate mining prospects and boost tourism potential of this state. We will showcase Osun as a strategic location for industrialisation.

“We are convinced that the peaceful atmosphere, a welcoming people, low crime rate, communal peace and the relative stability of electricity supply (particularly in the capital city) will attract local and foreign investors.

“We will develop the free trade zone while strengthening Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as a way to enhance their productive capacity to generate jobs and create wealth. To further boost our local economy and increase the revenue base, we shall make Osun a cultural destination and a tourism enterprise zone in the Southwest. 

“We shall improve on the Internally Generated Revenue of the state in ways that do not bring additional burden to the people. We will make health and education more accessible. Employment opportunities will be created through industrialisation and expansion of agricultural activities through appropriate incentives.

“To boost agriculture and food security, our administration will consolidate on the agricultural land expansion programme (the Land Bank), with an additional target of 20,000 hectares to the Land Bank. We will establish nine new farm settlements (one each per federal constituency) while we push forward on our promise to establish agro-industrial parks and produce markets. 

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Gboyega Oyeola, Governor of Osun state.

Governor of Osun state, Gboyega Oyeola

Osun Governorship: Verdict on Oyetola as Adeleke, others eye seat

Governor Oyetola faces challenges from the opposition and inside his party as Osun elects its next governor.

ByJosiah Oluwole July 15, 2022 Reading Time: 7 mins read

Gboyega Oyetola assumed office as the Governor of Osun State on November 27, 2019, succeeding Rauf Aregbesola, now Minister of Interior. Both men are of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the ceremony marked the first time in the history of the 31-year-old state that a governor would hand over to another elected on the platform of the same party.

In his inaugural speech, Mr Oyetola outlined what he would do over the next four years.

“To reposition the economy of our great state, we shall organise the Osun Economic Summit within the first quarter of our first year in office.

“The multi-stage, multi- stakeholders summit will dissect and recommend strategies which will drive meaningful youth employment, enhance food security, agricultural development, activate mining prospects and boost tourism potential of this state. We will showcase Osun as a strategic location for industrialisation.

“We are convinced that the peaceful atmosphere, a welcoming people, low crime rate, communal peace and the relative stability of electricity supply (particularly in the capital city) will attract local and foreign investors.

“We will develop the free trade zone while strengthening Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as a way to enhance their productive capacity to generate jobs and create wealth. To further boost our local economy and increase the revenue base, we shall make Osun a cultural destination and a tourism enterprise zone in the Southwest.

“We shall improve on the Internally Generated Revenue of the state in ways that do not bring additional burden to the people. We will make health and education more accessible. Employment opportunities will be created through industrialisation and expansion of agricultural activities through appropriate incentives.

“To boost agriculture and food security, our administration will consolidate on the agricultural land expansion programme (the Land Bank), with an additional target of 20,000 hectares to the Land Bank. We will establish nine new farm settlements (one each per federal constituency) while we push forward on our promise to establish agro-industrial parks and produce markets.

“As we promised during the campaign, the era of a mono-cultural economy must end. We will do all within our capacity to explore and fully utilise our stock of solid minerals. We shall re-position the Omoluabi Minerals Company for resource mapping and exploration of minerals,” were his anticipations.

Steps forward

As promised, the government went ahead to hold an economic summit in 2019 with the ambitious effort to hone the needed investments that would trigger economic development in the state. Industrialisation is key to job creation, but the will to invest in an environment not fertile for such is deterring.

The investors came with a lot of promises. No fewer than 22 investors, both local and international, indicated interest to partner with the state and invest in it.

They signified their readiness to explore the potential of the state in the areas of agriculture, mining, infrastructure, health, education and Information and Communication Technology.

Besides some achievements in mining with the entrance of the Segilola Gold Project and the Omoluabi Badger Mines, investments in other critical sectors are still being awaited.

The state’s Free Trade Zone in Osogbo, developed by the Olagunsoye Oyinlola administration, is in need of a facelift to meet its capacity to serve the industrial revival in the state.

The state government, however, asserts that it has achieved so much in developing the free trade zone and attracting investors to the facility. The Chief Press Secretary to the state governor, Ismail Omipidan, said a number of industries have been established in the zone, and many more are being developed.

Policy reversed

One of the promises the new governor made was to ensure continuity in government and protect the legacies of his predecessor, whom he served for eight years as chief of staff.

But many of the policies of Mr Aregbesola were novel and controversial, particularly in the education sector. The new governor soon succumbed to pressure to reverse some of the policies.

Mr Aregbesola in 2013 adopted the same uniform for pupils of public schools, merged and renamed some of the schools, reclassified the school system and abolished single-sex schools.

The administration also built mega high schools as part of a comprehensive education infrastructure development scheme spread across the three senatorial districts of the state.

The administration also employed thousands of teachers and procured new technology teaching aids.

However, in 2020, Mr Oyetola ordered the public schools to revert to their old names. He also reversed the single school uniform, the ‘reclassification’ of the public school system, and the abolition of single-sex schools.

The governor said the review of the policies followed calls for change by educationists, school administrators, religious groups and school owners.

Will voters on Saturday chide the governor over the changes?

Bidemi Adeyemi, an undergraduate student, said Mr Oyetola made the changes to calm nerves frayed by Mr Aregbesola.

“It is unlikely that anyone will be angry with the governor,” he said. “Those who have issues are Aregbesola’s sympathisers, who think the governor was not following the pattern laid down by his government.”

But the reversal of the policies marked the beginning of the conflict between the governor and the minister of interior.

Oyetola and Aregbesola

The conflict has since worsened and both men have parted ways. This manifested when the minister backed a challenger of the governor in the APC governorship primaries and when Mr Aregbesola refused to support Bola Tinubu in the party’s presidential primary.

The former Lagos State governor had played a pivotal role in the election of Mr Aregbesola as governor and is considered a factor in Osun politics.

At the governorship primaries, Mr Aregbesola backed Moshood Adeoti, his former Secretary to the State Government. After failing at the primaries, he supported Mr Adeoti to challenge Mr Oyetola’s victory at the primary in court. But on Thursday, the Federal High Court in Abuja threw out the suit.

Notwithstanding its disunity, the APC remains a formidable opponent for the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ademola Adeleke, in his second bid to oust the APC administration.

In 2018, Mr Aregbesola campaigned for the incumbent governor on his achievements in office, virtually leading the campaigns across the state. Not having the backing of Mr Aregbesola’s campaign sagacity for his reelection is a major drawback for the governor.

Mr Aregbesola did not turn up at the final rally of the APC on Wednesday in Osogbo. Sola Fasure, his media aide, said the governor did not invite the minister to join him in the campaigns. But Mr Aregbesola could not have campaigned at rallies with the governor while supporting Mr Adeoti to take away the ticket from him through the court.

Workers’ welfare

There are indications that Mr Oyetola has kept workers calm in the last three and half years through regular payment of salaries. This was unlike the case under his predecessor who “modulated” salary payment after revenue allocations to the state from the Federation Account began to fall.

Mr Aregbesola paid the workers small percentages of their salaries and promised to pay the arrears when the economic situation improved.

But despite Mr Oyetola being part of that government, he “has refused to attend to the backlog with the excuse that it was not his government that was responsible for the debts,” a civil servant, who asked not to be named for fear of victimisation, told PREMIUM TIMES in Osogbo.

“But he came into office with a promise that he would continue with the legacies of the Aregbesola government and inherited the assets and liabilities. Besides, government is a continuum. His excuse is unacceptable,” the civil servant said.

The governor has also lifted an embargo on promotions of civil servants. However, some workers have mocked the promotion exercise, saying it is only on paper.

“Most workers have received letters of promotion, but we are still waiting for the payment to back up the new levels attained,” another worker said.

Some who received cash backing for their promotions claim the money provided did not meet the actual position attained.

But Mr Omipidan insists that the government had cash-backed the promotions and that a fresh round of promotions was underway.

Pensioners have also been lamenting the failure of the government to pay their dues.

In May this year, Ronke Aderibigbe, the Coordinator of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners, Women’s Wing in Osun, bemoaned Governor Oyetola for not paying pension arrears.

“We are facing a lot of problems with our pensions in Osun,” she said during a prayer session in Osogbo.

“For instance, some pensioners who retired in 2008/09 are yet to be remunerated. Gratuity is not forthcoming, 33 per cent is not forthcoming, so are half salary, half pension or quarter pension.

“We now notice that our efforts to meet Governor Oyetola have been proving futile. It is like an exercise in futility.”

Shortly after that lamentation, the state government announced the release of N500 million for the payment of pensions.

But retirees complained that not all of them were captured and the bulk of the arrears remain unsettled.

In spite of these disenchantments, there are no indications that workers would be voting against the governor on Saturday.

Hameed Oyegbade, a journalist based in the state, said most workers seemed to be satisfied with what the governor has done so far.

“I think the workers have not raised any major objections, since the administration is not owing them salaries, except what they were owed before 2018,” he said.

Speaking on behalf of the Labour movement at a rally on Wednesday at the Nelson Mandela Freedom Park in Osogbo, the Chairman of the Joint Negotiation Movement, Bayo Adejumo, said the governor had met all the agreements he had with labour.

He said with that score, workers in the state would be voting for his reelection.

However, it is not clear if that position represents the stance of the average Osun worker.

Beyond the figures

Many agree that the administration has constructed some roads, patched potholes, and either continued or completed some projects. For instance, the construction of a flyover in the city centre.

The major bile against the government is the state of the economy. Although the situation is nationwide and not peculiar to Osun State, the ordinary Osun resident blames it on the government of APC whether at the federal or state level.

Joke Ominyi, a trader in Osogbo, said the prices of goods are no longer affordable, blaming it on bad government and leadership.

“This government is not concerned at all about what we are going through, but see how much they are spending on elections and campaigns,” she said.

“The truth is that there is still serious poverty everywhere, and we are not happy about this,” Sunday Adeogun, a furniture maker, said. “All we want is who will take us out of this mess, whether it is APC, PDP or even Labour Party. Something has to just happen differently.”

This is the pervading opinion on the streets. It is the reason, if not the only reason, they are calling for a change if that is all they can achieve in their effort for a better Osun.

Jobs

Mr Oyetola promised to create jobs. Some have reported that the government had a target of 30,000 jobs. He recently promised to provide more jobs through investments in the rail system.

While some jobs have been created through the OYES scheme, the quality of jobs and sustainability have been questioned.

Samuel Agunyai of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife, in his research work, “Policy, Youth Recruitment and Empowerment in Nigeria: A Case Study of Osun State Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES),” said the scheme, which he described as a palliative measure, needs strengthening to achieve its goal.

His findings showed that while OYES has created a few jobs and empowered some youth in the state, it has not improved the capacity of youth, because the scheme focuses on unskilled menial jobs.

The researcher noted that the implementation of OYES was fraught with challenges, concluding that a gap exists between the expected outcomes and the achievements so far.

The Oyetola government claims it has supported small-scale industries and empowered skilful residents in the production of shoes and clothing such as Adire.

It says this is witnessed in the state government’s policy of dedicating a day of the week to wearing such clothing among public officials.

His chances

Mr Oyetola is approaching the polls with a fair rating in the health sector, with very few industrial skirmishes and with a fairly good response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Although issues abound in the health sector, not much anger is coming from that direction.

With an average annual internally generated revenue of N20 billion and federally allocated revenue of N40 billion, and in the face of huge debts facing the state, the governor believes he has prudently managed the state to merit reelection.

The governor himself had said his decision to seek re-election was due to his confidence that the electorate appreciate his contributions in the last three and half years.

Opposition disagrees

Those in the opposition disagree with his position. “The incumbent has performed poorly. The lack of good governance is visible. Just go round the state, you will see clearly the failure of governance, lack of capacity and governance by propaganda. Our people are eager to vote out Governor Adegboyega Oyetola,” the PDP candidate, Mr Adeleke, said in a recent interview.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that some APC leaders are not particularly happy with Mr Oyetola for his “stinginess” and refusal to adequately “oil” the party machinery.

Party secretariats at the local levels are not getting the financial support that would make them feel they are in power. These muffled complaints are, however, not enough to sway the voters who are ardent adherents of the political party.

Not less than 18 political parties and their candidates are out for the governorship election. However, the PDP and the APC are in a familiar battleground. The campaigns have been intensive and extensive.

(Premium Times)