By Michael Adeyemo
Barring any unforeseen, the government of Osun State would soon announce the appointment of an Ede-born medical expert as the new head of the Osun Emergency Medical Services and Ambulance System (OSEMSAS), otherwise known as O’Ambulance.
Recall that the Osun State House of Assembly had on the 14th of September, requested the Manager of Osun Emergency Medical Services and Ambulance System (OSEMSAS), Dr. Samuel Babatunde to step aside pending the conclusion of the investigation of allegations leveled against him.
The statement reads, “The report of the audit investigation which was issued to the Honourable Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly revealed that there are payments made without documentation from the project account of the agency which accrued to millions of naira.
“Also, there are procurement irregularities, poor record-keeping of transactions as well as expenditures not accounted for at all, which contravenes the Finacial Regulations 32004, 05004, 09004 and 09002.”
“Also, the Head of Service is requested to appoint a competent officer as General Manager to Serve in Acting Capacity to facilitate the smooth running of the Agency.”
Reacting, a civil society group in Osun State, Osun Concerned Elites, had accused the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adewale Egbedun, of bias in the removal of Dr. Babatunde as the OSEMSAS GM. The group’s Coordinator, Alabi Adaramoja in a statement said Egbedun’s purported order removing the General Manager of OSEMSAS, Dr. Babatunde Olusegun, from office and directing the Head of Service to put in an immediate replacement was beyond his powers.
“It was discovered that the House never sat on any petition or inquiry or query or report at any time requiring the appearance of the said OSEMSAS General Manager before you handed him a suspension from office and directed the Head of Service for his immediate replacement. He was not heard at all by the House or whatever Committee before the announcement of his removal yesterday which is against the manifestation of fair trial.”
“You must be enlightened that yours is not to remove and replace any government official. That is clearly an affront on the powers of the Executive.” the group added.
According to a source within the government circle, the plan to install an Ede-born indigene as the new General Manager has been hatched and perfected. The only thing delaying the announcement is the governor’s final okay.
In a brief chat with Olayinka Ishola, a social commentator based in Osogbo, he said the OSEMSAS pattern is similar to the one executed on Dr. Tajudeen Odetayo, the bonafide rector of the State Polytechnic in Iree.
He said, “The illegal suspension of Odetayo as rector without due process and his replacement with an incompetent and unqualified Adeyemi from Ede threw the once peaceful school in chaos which later led to a shutdown of academic activities.”
“We are used to this pattern of removing people from office without due process to pave the way for an Ede indigene but we are asking Gov Adeleke to please govern with fair conscience and the fear of God. The constitution doesn’t really harp on federal character at the state level but we at least expect that our Governor will be moderate about his Ede agenda.”
Odetayo who approached the Lagos Division of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria after his removal, secured an interim order restraining Governor Ademola Adeleke and 14 others from appointing a rector for the institution. However, upon his return to office, the state government hurriedly ordered the school to proceed on a two-week break, citing the resumption of the suspended Rector, Dr. Tajudeen Odetayo, as the reason for its action.
Already, Governor Adeleke’s action is already causing division within the Osun chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as some stakeholders have appealed to him to be conscious of dealing with members of the party in the state. The stakeholders in a September 10 communique signed by a former Chairman of the party in the state, Sunday Ojo-Williams, and six others urged the state government to stop the victimization and marginalization of party members perceived as enemies.
Recall that the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) and several interest groups had in the past accused Senator Ademola Adeleke of running a nepotic government considering the lopsided appointments of Ede indigenes in his administration. The APC had also declared it an absurdity for Governor Adeleke to relocate the Government House to his sister’s residence in Ede, saying it simply makes him a misfit.
With the looming appointment of an Ede indigene as a replacement for Dr. Babatunde, it is unclear how Osun people and several political interest groups will react to the appointment of the OSEMSAS GM when announced.