Ex-Ogun AG, Gbolahan Adeniran States Reasons For His Resignation

Akingbolahan Adeniran, has stated the reasons for his resignation as Attorney-General And Commissioner For Justice of Ogun state.

His departure according to him is based on personal grounds, and not on massive corruption as speculated by media.

Adeniran, who made this remark on Monday, however, did not deny that he had formally informed his boss about his decision to leave the cabinet.

His statement reads: “While it is true that on 8 November 2021, I formally notified His Excellency, Prince Dapo Abiodun, MFR, the Governor of the State, of my decision to resign from the cabinet, I must state that contrary to the online news publications, my reasons for resigning are purely personal.

“I am not aware of any “massive corruption” in the Administration and I am indeed very proud of what we have been able to achieve in the administration of justice over the past two years, including:

• ·Improved accessibility of justice for the average citizen through the Ogun Public Interest Law Partnership which matches indigent clients with pro bono lawyers;
• ·Protection of the rights of suspects in detention through regular inspections by duty solicitors engaged under the Police Duty Solicitor Scheme;
• ·Use of technology to monitor the plight of pre-trial detainees with the Corrections Information Management System and Justice Clock;
• ·Gradual introduction of forensics into policing;
• ·Introduction of the Case Management and Scheduling System in conjunction with the Ogun State Judiciary;
• ·And many other reform initiatives in the justice sector.

“I want to assure His Excellency, the Governor and all my colleagues in the Executive Council of the State of my continued support.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed working with such an amazing group of administrators, technocrats and experts in various fields of endeavour.

“I have learnt a lot from you all and pray that God will continue to use you to improve on the lives of the good people of Ogun State.”

TheNigerialawyer recalls two sources who spoke with The Gazette separately about the development said Mr Adeniran has expressed concerns about unbridled corruption and incompetence in government and unsuccessfully took initiatives to curb such vices in public services.

“He tried to introduce reforms that will make it difficult for corruption and mismanagement to thrive,” a source with information about the development told The Gazette. “I am sure he will find a more suitable position to take up soon because he is a very diligent lawyer with a promising future.”

Mr Adeniran declined comments to The Gazette about his resignation.

“Whatever you’re going to publish, I have no comments,” the attorney-general said. Ogun information commissioner Waheed Odusile said there has been no resignation from the cabinet and did not elaborate as to the specifics of when and why Mr Adeniran would leave.

Critics said Ogun State has had more downs than ups since Mr Abiodun assumed office on May 29, 2019. At first, he was criticised for taking longer than necessary before forming a cabinet. He also faced charges of abandoning key infrastructure projects that were underway before he assumed office, with residents in satellite communities like Akute and Sango reporting neglect of road networks.

Mr Abiodun has been accused of diverting state funds to settle personal debts and shore up his private business. He strongly denied those charges and said he should be hailed for initiating power and road projects across the state’s geopolitical zones, considering the state’s insufficient coffers.

The governor also claimed credits for mitigating the impact of the pandemic on Ogun residents, which the World Health Organisation and other independent groups had commended.

But Mr Adeniran was not persuaded by the government’s measures that critics dismissed as cosmetic and decided to quit in order to preserve his reputation.

Mr Adeniran also pushed for judicial reform that will include widespread use of technology across the state’s court system, but he was unable to get the governor’s buy-in within a reasonable period of time.

“Thereafter, the governor made himself unreachable and it appears the governor is looking for a “dirtier”, more agreeable fellow as his Attorney-General,” one of our sources said under anonymity to avoid victimisation at his public service job.