This development has left the deputy governor shuttling between hotels in Akure at a significant cost to the state.
Government insiders told SaharaReporters the accommodation issue is rooted in political mistrust. “There is a deputy governor’s lodge, but they didn’t let him move in because they don’t want a power struggle,” one source said. “There’s even a VIP lodge in Government House that was renovated, but he was also barred from using it.”
Since February 2024, Adelami has reportedly stayed in at least four hotels around Ijapo and Alagbaka. By February 2025, official expenses on his accommodation were said to have crossed ₦130 million, with additional bills for his aides.
Adelami, a former Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly and ex-governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was nominated as deputy governor on January 24, 2024, hours after Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa dissolved the state’s Executive Council. The House of Assembly confirmed his nomination the same day, and he was sworn in on February 1.
At the inauguration, Aiyedatiwa praised Adelami’s “integrity and experience” and urged him to be transparent. Adelami pledged loyalty in return.
Their political partnership was recently affirmed by the Court of Appeal, which on July 31, 2025, dismissed challenges from four opposition parties over alleged electoral malpractice during the November 2024 polls.
Still, frictions within the administration remain. Sources allege that Commissioner for Finance, Mrs. Omowunmi Isaac, has an outsized influence over the governor. “The governor only listens to the Commissioner of Finance,” one insider claimed.
Before now, Isaac has faced public criticism. In February, the opposition PDP demanded her removal over allegations of budget padding and undue influence, pointing to the ₦11.5 billion security vote in the 2025 Appropriation Act, ₦250 million earmarked for “honorariums and sitting allowances,” and ₦230 million for a Toyota Prado SUV for her office.
Earlier this year, a viral video showed Isaac spraying ₦500 notes at a public event, in violation of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s currency abuse law. While similar offences have led to high-profile prosecutions, such as the jailing of socialite Idris “Bobrisky” Okuneye, no action has been taken against her.
Ironically, the deputy governor’s predicament mirrors what Aiyedatiwa endured under the late Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, who sidelined him during a political rift in 2023, even prompting an impeachment attempt. That crisis only ended after President Bola Tinubu intervened.
Akeredolu died in December 2023 after a prolonged illness, paving the way for Aiyedatiwa’s elevation to governor, a rise now shadowed by tensions similar to his own past battles.
As of press time, the Ondo State Government has not issued any statement on Adelami’s accommodation or the controversies surrounding the finance ministry.
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