Adeleke halts Ilesa college PPP deal, warns agencies against harmful partnership agreements

Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has scrapped a proposed Public-Private Partnership deal at a state-owned tertiary institution and issued a sweeping directive to all government agencies, parastatals, and tertiary institutions to exercise extreme caution in entering into legal agreements with private sector partners.

The governor directed the board and management of Osun State College of Health Technology in Ilesa to immediately stop further processing of a PPP agreement involving the college’s land, following a review of the proposed deal that found it to be unfair and against the best interests of the institution and the state.

Governor Adeleke directed the board and management of the college to discontinue the proposed arrangement entirely while the government explored internal options to address the accommodation needs of the institution.

The intervention at the Ilesa college was not an isolated action. Following what was described as the recent Sally Tibbot incident, Governor Adeleke further instructed agencies, parastatals, and tertiary institutions across Osun State to beware of legal agreements and proposals that are injurious to their institutions and the state at large. The directive signals a broader policy shift toward tighter gubernatorial oversight of how state-owned bodies enter into partnership arrangements with the private sector.

The governor’s office did not provide specific details on the nature of the PPP deal that was halted at the College of Health Technology, nor did it elaborate publicly on the Sally Tibbot incident that appears to have served as the immediate trigger for the wider directive. However, the language used — describing certain proposals as “injurious” — suggests the administration has identified a pattern of agreements that may expose state institutions to legal or financial risk.

The warning comes at a sensitive political moment for the Adeleke administration. The governor is seeking a second term in office ahead of the August 2026 Osun governorship election on the platform of the Accord Party, having formally exited the Peoples Democratic Party in November 2025 — a context in which perceived governance lapses or institutional controversies could carry significant electoral consequences.

The directive was announced by the governor’s spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, who urged all government entities to review any pending agreements and ensure that the interests of the state remain paramount in any future partnership negotiations.