“Adeleke’s 250,000 Job Claim Under Fire: APC Challenges Governor’s Record on Employment in Osun”

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has sharply rejected Governor Ademola Adeleke’s recent claim that his administration has created 250,000 jobs over the past two years. The party, through its Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi, described the figure as misleading and criticized the governor for failing to address the longstanding shortage of teachers and health workers in the state’s public schools and hospitals.

In his response, Olabisi questioned why the governor, who had not managed to employ teachers or health professionals for three years, was now prioritizing the recruitment of 10,000 youth corps members through the Imole Youth Corps program. He emphasized the ongoing concerns over the shortage of staff in critical public services, asking why such essential needs were being overlooked while the focus was placed on youth recruitment.

“Is it not strange that Governor Adeleke, who could not employ teachers and health workers for three years, is now thinking of recruiting 10,000 youth corps members?” Olabisi asked. He also referred to the 250,000 jobs claim as “a fake story” and expressed sympathy for teachers who had been swindled by the PDP-led administration into purchasing employment forms, only to wait in vain for recruitment.

Governor Adeleke had previously announced that his administration’s initiatives, including local content policies and financial support for businesses, had successfully created about 250,000 job opportunities over the last two years. This claim was made during the induction of 10,000 youths into the Imole Youth Corps, an initiative designed to tackle unemployment by offering jobs in sectors like health, security, environment, and education across the state’s 332 political wards.

Adeleke emphasized that the program was part of his broader efforts to create an enabling environment for job creation, involving both government and private sector participation. The initiative, he said, would provide youth with skills and opportunities, helping to ease the unemployment crisis.

“We are focused on tackling the unemployment crisis, and our policies have created more than 250,000 job opportunities for our people through local content policy, financial access to businesses, and the youth agropreneur program,” Adeleke said, adding that over N4 billion had been allocated to support grassroots entrepreneurs.

While Adeleke highlighted his administration’s commitment to job creation, including plans to launch agropreneur projects in all 30 local government areas, APC critics remain skeptical. The APC also pointed to the lack of tangible results in addressing critical staff shortages in public schools and hospitals as a major failing of the governor’s administration.

The Commissioner for Youth Development, Moshood Olagunju, however, reaffirmed the government’s structured approach to employment generation. He also assured that a performance evaluation system would be established to assess the success of the Imole Youth Corps and other employment initiatives.

“We are committed to transparency and results,” Olagunju said, adding that the evaluation system would ensure that each initiative meets its objectives.