A non-governmental organisation, the Conclave for Social, Economic and Industrial Development of Oke-Ogun (COSEIDOO), has urged Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde to allow his deputy, Mr. Remi Olaniyan, to lead the task force on Coronavirus.
The group, in a statement by its President, Mr. David Adejuwon, said before proceeding on self-isolation, Governor Makinde picked a former Chief Medical Officer (CMD) of the University College Hospital (UCH), Prof. Temitope Alonge, to hold the fort as the head of the task force, thereby rendering the deputy governor redundant.
Adejuwon said: “It’s on record that the executive governor, while proceeding on self-isolation, picked Dr. Alonge, a former CMD of UCH, as the head of the Oyo State Task Force on COVID-19, but inadvertently forgot to inform the people that his deputy, with who he had joint mandate during the last governorship election, will provide political leadership for the state and take some urgent decisions after due consultations in the best interest of the state.
“The constitutional provision for deputy governor I believe is for ease of administrating the state, to reduce the workload on the governor, improve on quality and speed of decision (two good heads are better than one), allow for good governance, team work, smooth and efficient administration, with the deputy undertaking the duties of the superior while he’s away.
“These best practices in administration are what are being reportedly observed by Kaduna and Bauchi governors and we hope Oyo State will follow suit immediately, unless the state is taken along on self-isolation which we hope not.
“The knowledge, competence, capability, experience and exposure of the deputy governor, who retired as permanent secretary in Oyo State civil service after a meritorious service before going into politics, are definitely not in doubt.