CONTROVERSIAL is trailing the expenditure being incurred by the Ondo State government due to the continued stay of the deputy governor of Ondo State, Olayide Adelami in a hotel accommodation.
The government is alleged to have spent at least N130m on hotel bills to house the deputy governor in the last one year.
Adelami, who was sworn in on February 1, 2024, has been staying in hotel apartments in Akure, the state capital, as his official government quarters has been undergoing renovation since his inauguration.
The deputy governor was said to have lodged in at least four of the first class hotels in the state, with other expenses incurred in the process.
A government official said Adelami does not live in Government House because of the poor state of the official quarters which was turned into office during the last political dispensation.
The official further alleged that the last administration converted the deputy governor’s lodge into a computer centre and situation room of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state for the 2023 general election.
The official, who pleaded to remain anonymous, explained the government should have allocated the newly renovated state government VIP lodge to Adelami rather than spending taxpayers’ money on the hotel bills.
“All the occupants of the VIP lodge have been flushed out and the only occupant at the moment is the state Finance Commissioner, Mrs Omowunmi lsaac.
“The deputy governor should be temporarily allocated the VIP lodge within the government house pending the period the deputy governor’s lodge will be completed,” the official said.
It will be recalled that the Director of Students mobilisation of the Ondo State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaign council, Ijanusi Olawale, had last October chided the government over management of the scarce resources of the state.
Ijanusi, in his statement, urged the government to channel the money used for lodging the deputy governor and his aides in hotels to other areas like education and health.
But reacting to the allegation then, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Digital Media,
Rahman Adekunle Yusuf explained Adelami occasionally stayed in hotel apartment in Akure, as his official government quarter is under renovation.
He said contrary to the allegation that Adelami stays in a hotel in Akure, thereby wasting state resources, “it is noteworthy that Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has ordered the renovation of the deputy governor’s official residence, which will be completed soon.
“It is on record that no deputy governor has occupied the said lodge since the first tenure of late Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, including Agboola Ajayi.
“For the records, Dr Olayide Adelami, an accomplished Nigerian, who retired as Deputy Clerk to the National Assembly was sworn in as the Deputy Governor of Ondo State on the 1st of February, 2024 and was operating from his house in Owo.
“He was later provided a room at a hotel by the protocol unit of the Deputy Governor’s office, due to the pressure of the work, which most times don’t allow him return to Owo, as his supposed official residence was under renovation.
“The hotel accommodation provided for Dr Adelami is a room and parlour for him alone, and none of his aides has ever stayed in the hotel with him, as we all have our own accommodations in different places within Akure metropolis.”
But the state official maintained that the deputy governor’s crew has incurred hotel bills running to several millions of Naira, but said there are still huge unpaid bills for accommodation and lodging.
“Accommodations were provided for the deputy governor and his aides in these hotels and they have been using various hotels for one year now.
Our source maintained that the money released for the quarter by the Ministry of Finance was not enough to complete the deputy governor’s or pay some, of the outstanding bills incurred on hotels.
Efforts made by our reporter to get the reaction of the state government officials on the issue proved abortive as no response came from telephone call put across to the Deputy governor aides.
READ ALSO: Alleged misconduct: Court stops impeachment of Ondo deputy governor
and then