By Sola Ajisafe, Esq
Government derives its legitimacy from accountability. Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution is clear: “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.” That purpose is not achieved by press statements alone. It is achieved when government first puts its own house in order before demanding compliance from citizens.
The announcement that Ondo State will take over abandoned private properties in Akure and other towns is, in principle, a sound urban renewal policy. No city can grow with dilapidated and unsafe structures littering its landscape. But the moral authority to enforce that policy collapses when government-owned projects are left to rot in plain sight. Less than fifty metres from the seat of power in Alagbaka, opposite the State Secretariat, stands an imposing structure started before or under Dr. Olusegun Agagu. It has been abandoned through the Mimiko, Akeredolu, and now Aiyedatiwa administrations.
Across Akure and other towns, bridges and roads started by government remain uncompleted. Citizens are watching. If government cannot complete or maintain its own buildings and roads, then takeover notices to private owners look less like public interest and more like selective enforcement.
The Land Use Act and Urban Planning Laws demand fairness, and fairness begins at home. Government should audit, publish, and fix all abandoned public projects in Alagbaka and Akure before serving notices to private citizens. That is leadership by example, not optics.
Dr. Kayode Ajulo, SAN, as Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, holds a dual office under Section 195 and Section 211 of the Constitution. He is the Chief Law Officer and a member of the Executive Council. Both roles are critical, but Section 211(3) is the compass; all powers must be exercised in the interest of public interest, justice, and the prevention of abuse of legal process. The Ministry of Justice has real, unresolved issues that touch directly on that constitutional mandate. The welfare of staff, State Counsel and DPP lawyers remains a pressing concern because demotivated counsel means delayed cases.
The welfare of Magistrates/Customary Court Judges and Judges if the Ondo State Judiciary and other matters triggered a strike not long ago. It is a fact that the lower courts handle the bulk of citizens’ first contact with justice, yet dilapidated magistrate courts continue to insult the very idea of access to justice. Court congestion and prison decongestion are also urgent, and the Attorney-General’s nolle prosequi power under Section 211(1)(c) remains the fastest legal tool to free awaiting-trial inmates with weak cases. Justice cannot be dispensed in leaking, overcrowded courtrooms, and the physical condition of courts demands attention.
Again, previous Attorneys-General like Eyitayo Jegede, SAN, Dr. Remi Olatubora, SAN, Kola Olawoye, SAN, and Charles Titiloye, SAN set a culture of visible leadership. They appeared in court for landmark cases such as the Sotitibire case and the naira redesign because the people needed to see the Chief Law Officer personally defending the State. Visibility matters, but so does substance, and the people need both.
The concept of “Do as I say, not as I do” erodes trust. Citizens are not opposed to urban renewal or firm governance. They are opposed to double standards. The Attorney-General should spend more energy fixing the welfare and infrastructure challenges within his Ministry than chasing policy announcements that generate headlines but do not fix court roofs. The people of Ondo State benefit more when Magistrates are paid and motivated, when Courts are habitable and cases move faster, when government completes its own abandoned projects before sanctioning private owners, and when the Attorney-General’s office is seen as the guardian of justice and not just the voice of government policy.
I contend forcefully that power is a trust. Section 211 gives the Attorney-General enormous power to institute, take over, or discontinue cases, and that power is only legitimate when it is exercised transparently and for the benefit of the people, not for media mileage. We urge the Ondo State Government to do its own part first by publishing a list of all abandoned government projects and setting timelines to fix them, and to let the Commissioner for Physical Planning and the Attorney-General jointly ensure due process is followed in any property takeover.
And to the Attorney-General; face your Ministry, strengthen the institutions of justice, and show the same energy you bring to policy announcements in fixing the welfare of Magistrates, State Counsel, and court infrastructure. That is how you honour Section 211(3) and the trust the people placed in you.
The people do not need more optics. They need justice that works. And justice begins at home.
Oloroogun Sola Ajisafe, Lawyer based in Akure
Friday May 29, 2026
