[Opinion]How going home with used vehicles began with Gov. Isiaka Adeleke

By Lanre Akeju

For days now, the Senator Ademola Adeleke-led administration in Osun has been dishing out lies and half-truths about government, governance and politics of the State, all in an attempt to make immediate past Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola look bad in the eyes of the public.

The current Osun government, apparently sensing that its days are numbered and considering that it is fast losing public sympathy which it got in the first place through dubious means and lies, decided to embark on a campaign of calumny against Oyetola. The latest of these is the issue of public officials and career civil servants going home with their used vehicles.

In Osun, institutional memory shows that like owing of pension arrears, the practice of leaving with used vehicles started with the late Senator Isiaka Adeleke, first civilian governor of the State, who incidentally is an older brother to the current governor.

When the military took over then, the late Adeleke and his deputy, Hastrup, left with their official vehicles.

And from then, each time any military administrator was leaving, they go with their vehicles. Sometimes, new ones are bought for them to take home.

At the time Chief Bisi Akande was leaving in 2003, the late Dotun from Ila was the ALGON chairman. Recall that under President Olusegun Obasanjo, every Local Government was made to purchase one Prado jeep for the police. And there was an additional one for use of the ALGON chairman. Therefore, when Lere Oyewumi from Irewole became the ALGON chairman, he tried to retrieve the vehicle from Hon. Dotun. But Hon. Dotun reminded him it came from the headquarters in Abuja, and that there was no such instruction from Abuja.

Governor Oyinlola intervened and asked him what he wanted to do with a used vehicle. In the end, he got another vehicle and when he was leaving, he left with it. Till date, Hon. Oyewumi, who is the PDP Senatorial Candidate for Osun West, still uses the vehicle.

Under Oyinlola, they bought new vehicles for the Local Government chairmen, board chairmen and their political godfathers. They left with all these vehicles when they were leaving government.

When Aregbesola came on board, judges and Permanent Secretaries complained that the Geely Vehicles purchased for them under Oyinlola administration were not strong. The Aregbesola administration thereafter bought new vehicles for them and they still retained those Geely vehicles. In fact, when 12 Permanent Secretaries retired, the government under Aregbesola bought new Toyota vehicles for them as take-home, following the examples he met. So, there is no Council Chairman or Permanent Secretary who served in these administrations that had no government vehicles. In fact, one of them, Hon. Ropo Oyewole, former Deputy Speaker from Ife, who is in the PDP today, drives the vehicle to the tribunal.

Hon. Kolapo Alimi, as Commissioner under Aregbesola, left with his official vehicle. He is alive. Any interested person can ask him, and I hope he will be sincere enough to say the truth. When Aregbesola was leaving, he did not leave any vehicle for Oyetola.

It is pertinent to note that all these happened when there was no law backing the act.

But today, there is a law that back Oyetola’s decision to approve the release of vehicles to public officials who served in his administration. As a governor, he had discretionary powers and he applied them responsibly.

The Adeleke-led PDP government should therefore stop villifying Oyetola. He has not committed any wrong. As a governor, he had the mandate of the people to exercise his powers until November 27, 2022 when the new government came on board. Governor Adeleke should be told that he cannot by fiat upturn the actions taken by Oyetola. Only a competent court of law can do that.