An internal crisis appears to be looming within the Ondo state government following a public outburst by Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Ondo State on Multimedia, Taiwo Gbamila, against the Commissioner for Infrastructure, Lands and Housing, Abiola Olawoye, over remarks allegedly directed at the governor’s media team.
Gbamila, in a strongly worded video directed at Olawoye, accused him of using a stakeholders’ meeting in Akure to publicly disparage members of the governor’s media aides, an action he described as inappropriate, divisive and capable of triggering a deeper crisis within the administration.
According to the governor’s aide, the meeting, attended by party leaders, senior government officials and other stakeholders, was meant to focus on development issues but was turned into a platform for attacking officials who work directly under the governor’s mandate.
Gbamila maintained that the governor’s media team has remained committed to professionally projecting the policies and achievements of the Aiyedatiwa administration despite operating under challenging conditions, stressing that no appointee should subject fellow officials to public ridicule.
“It is regrettable that a stakeholders’ meeting convened to discuss development was converted into a forum for attacking the governor’s media aides.
“Such conduct undermines unity and distracts from our collective responsibility to support the governor in delivering good governance,” Gbamila said.
Gbamila accused the commissioner of undermining the spirit of teamwork and collective responsibility expected of appointees serving under Governor Aiyedatiwa.
He argued that internal disagreements, particularly those involving sensitive offices such as the governor’s media team, should be resolved internally rather than being aired publicly.
He stated that “No appointee has the moral or administrative right to publicly ridicule fellow officials who are working tirelessly to project the programmes and achievements of this administration.
“The media aides have continued to discharge their duties with dedication, often under intense pressure and limited resources, yet they remain focused on ensuring that the people of Ondo State are properly informed about the activities of their government”.
He warned that persistent public criticism of the media team by cabinet members could undermine the governor’s communication strategy and distract from governance.
“When we begin to attack ourselves in public, we hand over ammunition to critics of the government and weaken the collective effort to deliver good governance,” Gbamila cautioned.
Gbamila recalled that similar incident happened last year, alleging Olawoye of conniving with the state Commissioner of Finance to frustrate funds duly allocated for media relations.
He said “This is not the first time such an issue is arising, there was a similar incident in the past when the Honourable Commissioner for Infrastructure and the Commissioner for Finance, Omowumi Isacc, allegedly connived to halt the release of funds already approved and allocated for media relations.”
He described the alleged action as a deliberate attempt to weaken the governor’s communication machinery and embarrass the administration in the eyes of the public.
“How do you expect the media team to effectively project the programmes and achievements of the governor when funds meant for media engagement are deliberately withheld?” he queried.
He however, appealed to the two commissioners to retrace their steps and work towards the success of Aiyedatiwa administration and the development of the state.
Efforts to reach the Commissioners for Infrastructure and Finance were unsuccessful as calls to their mobile phones were not returned, while no official response had been issued as of the time of filing this report.
However, some party leaders who spoke on condition of anonymity said the public rebuke signals growing internal tension within the administration, warning that unresolved disagreements among top officials, if allowed to fester, could escalate into a full-blown cabinet crisis.
