Governor Ademola Adeleke Criticized for Infrequent Executive Council Meetings
Governor Ademola Adeleke has faced severe backlash due to his infrequent convening of executive council meetings with his cabinet members.
Reports indicate that in the past year, Adeleke has organized only four state executive council meetings, sparking concern and criticism from various quarters.
Civil rights activist Waheed Saka expressed grave concerns, highlighting the constitutional obligation for governors to hold regular meetings with their cabinets to oversee state affairs.
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Saka stressed that this practice has been a consistent tradition in the state, with weekly state executive council meetings observed by previous administrations.
Citing Section 193 subsection 2 of the 1999 constitution, Saka emphasized the imperative for the governor to regularly convene these meetings to shape government policy.
He lamented the failure of the current administration to uphold this constitutional provision, labeling it as unfortunate.
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In response to the critique, a law professor from the Obafemi Awolowo University in Osun State clarified that while the constitution does not specify the frequency of executive council meetings, customary practices should not be disregarded. The professor underscored that, by convention, governors are expected to hold these meetings regularly.
Contrary to these criticisms, the Commissioner for Information in the state, Kola Alimi, defended the governor’s approach, stating that convening state executive council meetings is at the governor’s discretion.
Alimi clarified that the governor’s style involves holding these meetings when substantial issues necessitate discussions, as opposed to a fixed weekly schedule.
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Alimi further explained that there is no legal mandate specifying the frequency of these meetings, highlighting that the governor’s discretion dictates their occurrence based on the gravity of the matters at hand.
The disparity in perspectives regarding the frequency of state executive council meetings underscores the differing interpretations of constitutional obligations and customary practices in governance.
As the debate continues, the concerns raised by activists and legal experts about the adherence to constitutional principles in governance persist.
