Ondo Uncensored has faulted the Senior Special Assistant to the Ondo State Governor on Public Communication, Dr Debo Akinbami, for repeatedly blaming Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, for challenges confronting the state government.
In a strongly worded response to Akinbami’s recent article targeting Tunji-Ojo, the group said the governor’s administration should take responsibility for its performance instead of portraying the minister as the source of its political and governance difficulties.
The group acknowledged Akinbami’s renewed public engagement since his reappointment, saying his return to active communication was good for the governor’s image, but argued that such efforts must be anchored on facts.
According to Ondo Uncensored, Akinbami’s latest intervention contained more allegations than evidence, particularly regarding claims that Tunji-Ojo was working against Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
It argued that the article failed to identify any specific action by the minister that had negatively affected the governor, describing the allegations as a convenient narrative repeatedly deployed whenever questions were raised about the state government’s performance.
“Energy without accuracy is just noise,” the group said, adding that Ondo State’s challenges were matters of governance and should therefore be addressed by those entrusted with running the state.
Ondo Uncensored said concerns about the state’s development, divisions within the governor’s cabinet, complaints from party members and the slow pace of reconciliation within the ruling political structure could not reasonably be blamed on Tunji-Ojo.
The group maintained that such issues were internal matters for the state government and should not be attributed to a minister serving in the Federal Government.
It said the repeated tendency to invoke Tunji-Ojo whenever the governor’s administration faced criticism had become a “reflex” and an attempt to divert attention from legitimate questions about governance.
“Every hardship gets a minister’s name attached to it, as if he sits in Alagbaka approving budgets and choosing commissioners. He does not,” the group said.
It challenged the state government to demonstrate what concrete measures it had taken to strengthen party unity, address grievances and restore public confidence rather than focusing on alleged political ambitions of the minister.
Ondo Uncensored also rejected claims that Tunji-Ojo was working against President Bola Tinubu’s re-election, arguing that his public activities and political engagements indicated the opposite.
According to the group, Tunji-Ojo had been actively involved in efforts to promote the Tinubu administration and support its political structures across the state.
It further claimed that individuals associated with the minister had contributed to public advocacy for the president’s achievements and second-term bid.
The group argued that such activities were inconsistent with allegations that the minister was secretly working to undermine the president or the governor.
“Look at the political structures springing up across the state in the president’s name and you will find his fingerprints and his funding,” it said.
Ondo Uncensored urged Akinbami and other officials of the state government to focus more on addressing genuine concerns raised by citizens and party members rather than turning every criticism of the administration into an accusation against Tunji-Ojo.
It said accountability should be mutual, stressing that legitimate questions about the governor’s performance should be answered on their own merits.
The group described Akinbami as a learned man and capable writer, but urged him to deploy his communication skills toward addressing substantive issues affecting the state.
“Ondo State does not need another round of ‘BTO did it’. It needs a government that stops outsourcing its shortcomings to a minister who, if the record is read honestly, has spent the last two years building things while his accusers have spent it building excuses,” Ondo Uncensored said.
