Saturday, 20 September 2025

Home / Culture / Infrastructure / Osun / Spending N678 million to reconstruct shrine in Adeleke's hometown is misplaced By Adebayo Adedeji

Spending N678 million to reconstruct shrine in Adeleke's hometown is misplaced By Adebayo Adedeji

by KakakiOodua Media Services in Culture, Infrastructure, Osun

The recent award of a N678 million contract for the reconstruction of the Sango-Timi Shrine and Grove at Timi's Palace in Ede---Governor Ademola Adeleke's hometown---has further raised questions about the fiscal priorities of the Osun State government and fairness in governance.

To put this in perspective, the amount allocated to this shrine project is almost double the ₦376 million released by the government as Education Subsidy in the first half of the year, as shown on page 42 of the state’s Budget Implementation Report for Q2 2025.

Furthermore, many promises made to state workers remain unfulfilled. For instance, of the ₦6 billion budgeted for Gratuity Arrears payment in 2025, no funds had been released as at the end of Q2.

For gratuity payments, only ₦500 million, just 11.1% of the ₦4.5 billion budgeted, has been disbursed.

The Contributory Pension Scheme is also poorly funded, with only ₦998 million, representing 14.3% of the ₦7 billion planned, released so far this year.

Governor Adeleke has repeatedly been accused of concentrating development efforts in his hometown of Ede, often at the expense of other major towns. In 2025 alone, seven road projects, valued at over ₦70 billion, have been awarded for dualisation in Ede. Meanwhile, numerous infrastructure projects in other towns such as Ife, Osogbo, and Ilesa remain uncompleted, nearly two years after being awarded.

Let us recall that in October 2023, Governor Adeleke announced an "ambitious" plan to complete five flyovers within 12 months. Almost two years later, none of the projects, two in Osogbo and one in Ife, has been completed. While two of the five have not even taken off.

If the shrine project in Ede is intended to promote tourism and preserve cultural heritage, one must ask: Why Ede alone? Why not invest in more historically significant sites like: Ile-Ife, the cradle of the Yoruba people and Osogbo, home to the Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove, a UNESCO World Heritage Site?

In Ile-Ife alone, there are at least three major cultural and spiritual attractions worthy of investment: The Oduduwa Shrine and Grove, the Queen Moremi Statue and the Opa Oranmiyan.

How many of these heritage sites have received any attention or funding from the Adeleke administration?

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