*Our govt never sacked any worker, says PDP

Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo 

An All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial aspirant in Osun State, Senator Surajudeen Ajibola Basiru, has again taken a swipe at the administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke and cautioned him to be receptive to correction, warning against his penchant for attacking those who offer useful advice.

Adeleke, reacting through his spokesman, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, took offence in Basiru’s advice on how his administration was making life unbearable for the people of the state.

A statement by Basiru stated that he would not stop at anything in giving useful advice to Adeleke as anything that happens to Osun could affect him and others. 

According to the former commissioner, who currently chairs the National Sugar Development Commission (NSDC), he expected that the incumbent government would not take his advice because from day one, it liked to be praised, even for the littlest of things.

“The reaction is yet another sad example of the administration’s inability to engage in constructive discourse. Instead of addressing clear failures, the government continues its descent into baseless abuse, theatrical name-calling, and hollow propaganda.

“It is important to remind the Adeleke administration that governance is not about trading insults but about responding to accountability with facts. A government that has failed across critical sectors cannot hide behind slogans and solar lights that barely last a week.

“While the administration boasts of a 40 per cent debt reduction, it conveniently hides the fact that Osun’s federal allocation has increased by over 300 per cent. What the Adeleke government claims as financial discipline is simply the benefit of increased federal oil receipts, not strategic fiscal management and discipline.

“Governor Adeleke has denied the widespread reports of teachers disengagement since assuming office. Why did Adeleke sack about 5000 teachers employed by his predecessor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola? Two and a half years after, why has he not engaged them again?” he asked.

Meanwhile, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State, has refuted claim regarding the status of certain individuals allegedly employed into the civil service at the tail end of the immediate past administration. 

The PDP described the remarks as mere crocodile tears from a sore loser.

The party reminded Basiru that the Osun State civil service was governed by established laws and could not be manipulated for political vendetta. 

It noted that many APC loyalists were hastily and unlawfully absorbed into the civil service in the twilight of Oyetola’s administration, not through due process but as a political trap for the incoming PDP government.

In a statement from the Osun PDP media office, the party condemned the desperate attempt by the embattled APC governorship aspirant to label the last-minute and irregular exercise as genuine employment.