By Akinwale Yekeen

Taiwo Fasoranti

The Ondo Redemption Front (ORF), a civil society organisation, has faulted the reappointment of Taiwo Fasoranti as secretary to the state government (SSG) after he had resigned to contest the Ondo central senatorial primaries.

Fasoranti, the son of Reuben Fasoranti, Afenifere national leader, had in April resigned his appointment to contest the All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries for the Ondo central senatorial seat ahead of the 2027 general election.

He, however, lost the ticket amid alleged manipulation of winners’ list for the primaries.

Reacting to the development at press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, Ayodeji Ologun, chairman of the ORF, criticised the decision to leave the SSG position vacant while Fasoranti pursued his senatorial ambition.

He wondered whether the office of the SSG has become a political holding room to be vacated and reclaimed at will or it remained an institution of the government.

“For several months, we, Ondo Redemption Front, have consistently raised concerns about the direction of governance in Ondo state,” Ologun said.

“Unfortunately, rather than addressing these concerns, recent events have only reinforced the conclusion that the administration of Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa remains trapped in a cycle of indecision, poor prioritisation, weak coordination, and governance by reaction rather than by vision.

“The reappointment of Dr. Taiwo Fasoranti as secretary to the state government has once again exposed the absence of strategic thinking within the administration.

“While we congratulate Dr. Fasoranti on his return, the circumstances surrounding his reappointment raise fundamental questions about the seriousness of governance in Ondo state.

“The office of the secretary to the state government is not a ceremonial position. It is the engine room of policy coordination and administrative efficiency.

“Yet, after Dr. Fasoranti left to pursue his senatorial ambition, the governor allowed the position to remain vacant for an extended period, creating an avoidable vacuum at the highest level of government administration.”

Ologun further said, “a serious government does not leave such a critical office unattended for months”.

He lamented that the delay in filling the position reflected either a lack of urgency, a lack of available competent hands or a lack of appreciation of the importance of institutional governance.

“Now that the same individual has returned to occupy the position, the public is left wondering whether the office belongs to the institution of government or has become a political holding room to be vacated and reclaimed at will,” he said.

Ologun, who briefed the press alongside Kayode Mogbojuri and Adedotun Ajulo, co-chairman and secretary of ORF, respectively, also said inadequate personnel, insufficient equipment, poor infrastructure, and weak emergency response capabilities are some of the challenges facing public hospitals in Ondo state.

According to him, independent assessments have already placed Ondo state among the poorest-performing states in public hospital satisfaction.

“That reality cannot be erased by press statements or public relations campaigns. The ordinary citizen seeking healthcare remains largely abandoned,” he added.

Source: TheCable