Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has announced the selection of Olayide Owolabi Adelami for the position of Deputy Governor.

Adelami, who hails from Owo, the hometown of the late Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, is a former Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly.

The name of the deputy governor nominee has been transmitted to the Ondo State House of Assembly for approval.

Earlier Wednesday, the governor sacked all commissioners, senior special assistants (SSAs) and special assistants (SAs) appointed by Akeredolu and directed them to immediately hand over to the Permanent Secretaries or the most senior administrative officers in their respective offices.

Aiyedatiwa, 59, formerly Ondo deputy governor, was sworn in as the substantive governor of the South-West state on December 27, 2023, following the death of Akeredolu.

The former deputy governor survived an impeachment plot by some Akeredolu’s allies in the Ondo State House of Assembly when the ex-governor was ill.

There are three senatorial districts in the state and the politics of rotation of power also operates locally. While the new governor, from the Ilaje Local Government Area, is from Ondo South, the late governor was from the Owo Local Government Area in Ondo North.

Many had thought the new governor would pick his deputy from Ondo Central but Aiyedatiwa, a former commissioner of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), settled for Akeredolu’s kinsman in Owo, from Ondo North.

Adelami’s Profile

Chief Olayide Owolabi Adelami, mni hails from Owo, Ondo state. He was born over 6 decades ago to the family of Oluka Oribokun by Pa and Mrs Amos Adelami. Adelami graduated from the prestigious Imade College in Owo before proceeding to The Polytechnic, Ibadan for his GCE A level and University of Lagos for his Bachelors of Science in Business Administration. He further got an MBA degree from Ogun State University.

After the completion of the mandatory one year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in June 1983, young Adelami was enlisted into Federal Civil Service as an Accountant II in December, 1983. He resumed to the Treasury Department of the Accountant General of the Federation office and in 1988 he was later posted to the National Assembly Provisional Office, Abuja as one of the pioneer staff of the Constituent Assembly which metamorphosed into the present day National Assembly.

In the discharge of his duty, Adelami had the singular privilege of setting up the Finance and Accounts Department of the National Assembly as we have come to know it. In 1996, he was invited to help in setting up the Accounts Department of the Petroleum Special Trust Fund. After completion of this tasks, he was also beckoned to serve at the Family Support Trust Fund where, again, he helped set up the Finance and Accounts Department. He headed these departments between 1996 and 2000. It is mention-worthy that the project of National Hospital, Abuja was executed and delivered during Adelami’s service period.

His sterling performances, years of experience and reputation as an astute manager of resources with enviable integrity saw Adelami being recalled to the National Assembly in 2000 to strengthen the Finance Department. Three years later, he was made the Head of the Finance and Accounts Department. He remained in this position till 2007 when he was confirmed as a Director. The following year, he was nominated for a one year senior management course at the prestigious National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos.

After the completion of his course at the Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies in 2008, he was assigned a bigger task of pioneering the newly created Department of Procurement and Supplies. Without a single trained staff in procurement processes, Adelami embarked on the rigorous process of staff training and nurtured the department to an enviable position. In 2014, he was promoted to the position of Secretary (Permanent Secretary), Directorate of Procurement, Estate and Works. A position he held until he was appointed as the Deputy Clerk to the National Assembly. (Channels TV)

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