A former lawmaker in the Oyo State House of Assembly, Honorable Femi Josiah, has criticised the Chairman of the Oyo State Board for Technical and Vocational Education, Elder Adekola Ayoade, over his public interaction with opposition governorship candidate, Oriyomi Hamzat.
Ayoade’s alleged complicity was said to be contained in a viral at an event organized by Ibadan indigenes held in Ibadan on Thursday, August 27.
Josiah, in a statement on Friday, said political appointments come with the responsibility to exercise sound political judgment, arguing that Ayoade ought to have been more circumspect in his public conduct because of his position as an appointee of Governor Seyi Makinde.
According to him, there was nothing inherently wrong with a government appointee attending an event where individuals from different political parties and tendencies were present.
He, however, maintained that Ayoade’s “bromancing and fraternising” with Oriyomi Hamzat, whom he described as an opposition governorship candidate who had relentlessly and repeatedly criticised Makinde and his administration, raised questions about political judgment and loyalty.
Josiah said, “Political appointments come with a responsibility to exercise sound political judgment.
“There is nothing inherently wrong with attending an event where people across political divides are present. But as an appointee of Governor Seyi Makinde, the Chairman of the Board for Technical and Vocational Education, Elder Adekola Ayoade, should have known better.”
The former lawmaker said Ayoade could have attended the gathering, listened to discussions, exchanged ideas and left without creating unnecessary political controversy considering his current position in the Makinde-led government.
He, however, said publicly fraternising with an opposition figure who had consistently attacked the governor was “a completely different matter”.
Josiah also expressed concern over a reported comment attributed to Ayoade to the effect that “if the Governor removes him tomorrow,” describing the alleged remark as unnecessarily reckless for a serving political appointee to make publicly.
He stressed that political loyalty did not necessarily mean that government appointees could not disagree with opposition politicians or maintain relationships across political divides.
However, he said accepting a political appointment came with an obligation to understand the sensitivity, responsibility and political optics associated with such a position.
“Nobody is saying the Chairman cannot have friends or engage with opposition figures. But at a time when political realignments are already taking shape ahead of 2027, you cannot behave as though your public conduct carries no political meaning,” Josiah said.
The former legislator further dismissed suggestions that the incident represented evidence of growing political influence for Hamzat, saying the conduct of one government appointee should not be interpreted as a political victory for an opposition politician.
“And for those trying to spin this as evidence that Oriyomi Hamzat has somehow gained political ground, let’s not get carried away.
“One person’s poor political judgment does not amount to another person’s political victory,” he said.
Josiah maintained that Ayoade simply needed to demonstrate greater restraint and political maturity in his public engagements, particularly as political activities ahead of the 2027 elections intensify.
He argued that political calculations were often influenced as much by perception as by intention, noting that public officials must constantly consider how their actions and associations could be interpreted.
“Politics is about perception as much as intention. And sometimes, knowing where not to sit, how long not to stay and what not to say is part of political intelligence,” he added.