Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has approved the appointment of 1,003 political aides in a single sweeping announcement, a decision that has sparked outrage among civil society groups and opposition parties who question the governor's commitment to fiscal responsibility and inclusive governance. The governor's Chief Press Secretary, Ebenezer Adeniyan, disclosed the appointments in a statement on Thursday, August 20, 2026, saying the move was aimed at "strengthening governance and enhancing service delivery to the people of Ondo State". The appointments include one commissioner nominee, three Special Advisers, 90 Senior Special Assistants and 910 Special Assistants. The commissioner nominee, Erelu Taibat Yemi Oloruntoba from Akoko North-West Local Government Area, has been forwarded to the Ondo State House of Assembly for screening and confirmation.
The three Special Advisers appointed are Abimbola Fajolu as Special Adviser on Environment, Chief Ade Adeniyi as Special Adviser on Rural and Community Development, and Muyiwa Ogunyemi as Special Adviser on Transport. Among the 90 Senior Special Assistants are appointees covering areas as diverse as Women Mobilisation, Forestry, Community Engagement, Students Affairs, Volunteer Services, Oil and Gas, Youth Empowerment, Public Engagement, Scholarship, Grassroots Mobilisation, Photography, and Non-Indigenes Affairs. The full list of the 910 Special Assistants is yet to be released, with the government saying it will be made public later. All appointments, except for the commissioner nominee whose appointment is subject to legislative confirmation, take immediate effect.
The scale of the appointments has drawn sharp criticism from civil society groups, particularly given that Governor Aiyedatiwa had sacked all Senior Special Assistants and Special Assistants just five months earlier, in March 2026, in what was described as a move to "enhance efficiency". At the time, the governor had promised to appoint about 1,000 new aides drawn from the 203 wards across the 18 local government areas of the state. That promise has now been fulfilled, but critics argue that the cycle of mass sacking and mass appointment is neither efficient nor cost-effective. The recurring pattern raises fundamental questions about the governor's understanding of governance and his commitment to building a stable, professional civil service. A governor who sacks hundreds of aides only to rehire a similar number months later is not strengthening governance; he is treating the state's administrative machinery as a personal patronage tool.
The Agba Imole Renewed Hope Agenda, a social-political group, has raised the alarm over what it described as a "political and governance crisis" in Ondo State, calling on President Bola Tinubu to intervene to prevent the All Progressives Congress from losing votes in the state ahead of the 2027 elections. The group accused the Aiyedatiwa administration of "excessive centralisation of power" and the "systematic sidelining of constitutionally recognised office holders," including Deputy Governor Dr Olaide Adelami. The group demanded that Aiyedatiwa take immediate corrective actions, including making governance more inclusive through wider consultation, initiating genuine reconciliation among aggrieved APC stakeholders, and undertaking a comprehensive review of the conduct of all political appointees. The group's concerns highlight a growing perception that Aiyedatiwa's administration is more interested in consolidating personal power than in serving the people of Ondo State.
The appointment of over 1,000 political aides comes at a time when Ondo State, like the rest of Nigeria, is grappling with economic hardship, rising unemployment and a cost-of-living crisis that has pushed millions into poverty. The state's internally generated revenue remains inadequate to meet its obligations, and the government relies heavily on federal allocations to fund its operations. In this context, the creation of over 1,000 new political offices is not just wasteful; it is a profound insult to the people of Ondo State who are struggling to make ends meet. The governor's justification that the appointments will "strengthen governance and improve service delivery" rings hollow when the state's primary and secondary schools remain dilapidated, healthcare facilities lack essential drugs, and roads in rural communities are impassable.
This is not the first time Aiyedatiwa has engaged in mass appointments. In September 2024, just months before the November 16 governorship election, he appointed 344 additional aides, a move that critics said was designed to "bolster the governor's influence across the state ahead of the election". The pattern is clear: Aiyedatiwa uses political appointments as a tool of political mobilisation rather than as a means of improving governance. Each appointment creates a debtor who owes loyalty to the governor, not to the people. This system of patronage undermines meritocracy, discourages professionalism and perpetuates a culture of dependency that is antithetical to sustainable development.
The appointment of a Special Assistant on Photography and a Special Assistant on Volunteer Services, alongside the creation of multiple Community Engagement SSAs for the South, Central and North zones, raises questions about the necessity and functionality of these roles. Are these positions created to serve the people or to serve the political interests of the governor? The lack of clarity on the specific responsibilities and deliverables of these appointees suggests that the appointments are more about political patronage than about improving governance. The government's admission that the full list of 910 Special Assistants will be released later further fuels suspicion that many of these appointments are being made without proper scrutiny or due process.
Aiyedatiwa's defence that the appointments are aimed at "strengthening governance" is contradicted by the fact that he had sacked hundreds of aides just months earlier. If the previous set of aides was not effective, what guarantees that this new set will be any different? The governor has not provided any evidence that the new appointees possess the requisite skills, experience or qualifications to perform the functions assigned to them. The absence of a transparent, merit-based selection process undermines public confidence in the administration and suggests that appointments are based on political loyalty rather than competence. The people of Ondo State deserve better than a governor who treats the state's administrative apparatus as his personal fiefdom.
The group's call for President Tinubu's intervention is a damning indictment of Aiyedatiwa's leadership. It is a rare and telling moment when a support group within the ruling party publicly seeks the intervention of the President to resolve a governance crisis in a state. The group's concerns about the "systematic sidelining" of the Deputy Governor and the "excessive centralisation of power" suggest that Aiyedatiwa's administration is not only wasteful but also authoritarian. A governor who centralises power and sidelines constitutionally recognised office holders is not strengthening governance; he is undermining the very foundations of democratic governance.
As the 2027 elections draw closer, Aiyedatiwa's mass appointments may be seen as an attempt to build a political machine that can deliver votes. However, the people of Ondo State are watching, and they are unlikely to be impressed by a governor who spends public funds on political patronage while they struggle to survive. The governor's legacy will not be defined by the number of aides he appoints but by the quality of governance he delivers. If the appointments do not translate into tangible improvements in the lives of the people, they will be remembered as yet another example of a politician who prioritised his own political survival over the welfare of the people he was elected to serve.
📩 Stone Reporters News | 🌍 stonereportersnews.com
✉️ info@stonereportersnews.com | 📘 Facebook: Stone Reporters News | 🐦 X (Twitter): @StoneReportNew | 📸 Instagram: @stonereportersnews
Add comment
Comments