Osun Government clarifies appointment of Climate Change Consultant

Our attention has been drawn to a bigot-laden news accusing the Osun State Governor of engaging non-indigenes into key positions in the state due to his maternal connection to the igbos.

We like to set the record straight that Professor Chinwe Obuaku, the Consultant to the State Government on Climate Change and renewable energy was a part of the six-man Osun state delegation led by the Commissioner for Energy, Hon. Festus Adeyemo to the German-Nigeria Business Forum.

At the Forum, the Osun team included top officials from digital economy, energy, climate change and critical sectors of the state economy.

We affirm that the engagement of Professor Chinwe, a United Nation Certified Climate Change Expert, by the State Government followed all due process and manifest the efforts of Mr Governor to place merit and nationalism above all considerations and to support the climate sector process in Osun state.

Osun state had in the past engaged hundreds of consultants and even many now across the sectors, some of which are indigenes and some, non-indigenes. Our major priority as a Government is to ensure that they are qualified professionally and academically with the capacity to deliver on assigned mandate.

Senator Ademola Adeleke is the Governor of Osun State and for all the residents of Osun State, both indigenes and non-indigenes and will not discriminate against any tribe. In Osun, there are non-indigenous voters (Hausa, Igbo and many others) running into several thousands.

We also like to clarify that in Osun state, there is no Igbo Commissioner like the fake news had alleged. The practice from Lagos State to Kano State is to appoint non-indigenes into offices to give them a sense of belonging in the state.

Osun represents a model of best practice where inclusiveness and good governance take priority over primordial thinking and assertions.