From ₦1bn in Lagos to ₦500m in Osun: Adeleke Family Under Fire Over Priorities• Osun Security Fund Launch Marred by Boycott, Allegations, Low Confidence

By James Adedigba

Governor Ademola Adeleke and members of his family are clearly paying lip service to the security of lives and property of the people of Osun State. This reality was laid bare yesterday during the purported launch of the Osun State Security Trust Fund in Osogbo.

It is worth recalling that the Adeleke administration had initially planned to commence this initiative as far back as January 2024.

 According to the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Olawale Rasheed, in a statement issued on 22nd January 2024:

“As part of efforts to secure lives and property of residents in Osun State, Governor Ademola Adeleke has directed the establishment of a State Security Trust Fund as a matter of urgency.

The Governor hinted that the Fund will operate on a public-private partnership model in close collaboration with corporate organizations, business communities, industrialists and critical stakeholders.

The Fund will be deployed for the provision of material and logistic support for security operatives in the State.”

However, rather than giving effect to this urgent security initiative, Governor Adeleke and his team went to sleep.

In August of the same year, 2024, the governor and members of his family traveled to Lagos to donate generously to an endowment fund in honour of their late mother. His elder brother, Deji Adeleke, alone donated a staggering ₦1 billion. At the time, there were widespread rumours that the funds donated by the Adeleke family may have been sourced from the Osun State purse. The public openly criticized the businessman for neglecting Osun State while extending such generosity to a distant cause in Lagos.

 Notably, since Ademola Adeleke assumed office as governor, his elder brother has not made any widely known donation to the development or welfare of Osun State.

During the launch of the State Security Trust Fund—an initiative opposition voices have alleged is designed to raise funds for the governor’s re-election bid—Deji Adeleke reportedly made a reluctant donation of ₦500 million, a far cry from the ₦1 billion he donated in Lagos in 2024. 

Sources indicate that he only made this donation after private individuals and corporate organizations invited to the event largely boycotted the programme.

 In a bid to save face and create the impression of success, he stepped in at the last minute. Further reports suggest that his initial intention was to donate ₦100 million, but he was pressured to increase it to ₦500 million to shield his younger brother from public embarrassment.

The anti-climax of the programme came when Governor Ademola Adeleke himself announced a donation of ₦300 million on behalf of the Osun State Government to the same Security Trust Fund.

“It is ridiculous that the state governor could only donate a miserable ₦300 million to the said Osun State Security Trust Fund. This is a governor who has drawn over ₦15 billion in security votes since November 2022 when he assumed office. In 2023, Adeleke withdrew ₦2.6 billion; in 2024, ₦3.18 billion; and in 2025, ₦9.19 billion. Throughout this period, he did not procure operational vehicles nor provide motorcycles for security agencies in the state. Now he is donating a 'pittance' to the trust fund,” a university teacher in Ile-Ife, who requested anonymity, stated.

He added: “The ₦500 million donation by the governor’s elder brother is equally questionable when compared to the ₦1 billion he donated to a worship centre in Lagos. How many such institutions in Osun State has he supported? None. Even when presented with an opportunity to redeem himself yesterday, he gave only half of what he gave elsewhere. It is disheartening and suggests a lack of genuine priority for the people of Osun State.”