The Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, on Thursday announced the appointment of 90 Senior Special Assistants and 910 Special Assistants, which is expected to cost the state over N3.7 billion annually.
Aiyedatiwa also appoined Erelu Taibat Yemi Oloruntoba from Akoko North-West Local Government as Commissioner for Special Duties, and three Special Advisers – Abimbola Fajolu (Ileoluji-Okeigbo LG), Special Adviser, Environment; Ade Adeniyi (Ondo West LG), Special Adviser, Rural and Community Development; and Muyiwa Ogunyemi (Akoko North-East LG), Special Adviser, Transport.
The appointment of the over 1,000 fresh political aides was contained in a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Ebenezer Adeniyan.
Aiyedatiwa said that the appointment was to strengthening governance and enhancing service delivery to the people of the state.
This is amid increasing demand by residents of the state for improved security, infrastructural development, healthcare services, quality education, and governance accountability to match rising federal allocations and public revenues.
According to the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), each special adviser earns N380,241.76 monthly and N4.6 million annually.
In Ondo State it was learnt that the senior special assistants and special assistants are entitled to at least N350,000 monthly inluding other allowances.
This means with the newly appointed 1,000 aides to the governor, nothing less than N350 million would be spent on their salaries monthly and N3.7 billion annually by the state government.
Interestingly, majority of the appointees have no portfolio to their names or schedule of duty.
Sections 196 and 208 of the 1999 Constitution, empower a governor to appoint aides to assist him in performing his functions. However, the Constitution does not limit the number of persons to be appointed.
Thefrontrank reports that despite increasing federal allocations and internally generated revenue, Ondo State has not recorded corresponding improvement in critical sectors, such as healthcare, education, infrastructure and security in the last three years.
Reacting to the development, some residents described the appointment of 1,000 Senior Special Assistants and Special Assistants as reckless abuse of state resources.
“This is profligacy. There must be prudence, accountability and transparency in government.
“Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution says the people’s security and welfare shall be the government’s primary purpose, then appointing an endless list of appointees has defeated that purpose because the resources meant for the people will now be used to pay political appointees,” said a resident.
Some stakeholders have equally described the appointment of 1,000 persons as Senior Special Assistants and Special Assistants by the governor as “executive rascality.”
“The Ondo State’s challenge now is not a shortage of funds but an ineffective utilisation of available resources.
“Residents across the state are still contending with poor roads, struggling schools, inadequate healthcare services and rising insecurity,” a resident of Akure told Thefrontrank.
In February 2024, the Ondo State Universal Education Board (SUBEB) expressed concern over about 240,000 out-of-school children in the state.
According to the immediate past chairman of the board, Victor Olabimtan, the rate of out-of-school children in South-West, not leaving out Ondo State, is becoming alarming.
Olabimtan was of the view that every stakeholder must be engaged to address it.
He said, “It has become a serious socioeconomic issue because it has become a breeding ground for social and political miscreants. Studies have shown it is a growing menace in this part of the world without leaving out our state.”
Sadly, reports and data indicate that Ondo State’s public health sector faces severe strain, characterized by high workloads for a shrinking medical workforce, patient complaints over drug and staff shortages, and low public performance index rankings.
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