Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State has officially announced his selection for the position of Deputy Governor.

Aiyedatiwa selected Olayide Owolabi Adelami, who hails from Owo, Ondo State.

He was born over 60 years ago to the family of Oluka Oribokun by Pa and Mrs Amos Adelami.

Adelami graduated from the prestigious Imade College in Owo before proceeding to The Polytechnic, Ibadan for his GCE A level and University of Lagos for his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He further got an MBA degree from Ogun State University.

After the completion of the mandatory one-year National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, in June 1983, young Adelami was enlisted into the Federal Civil Service as an Accountant II in December 1983.

He resumed to the Treasury Department of the Accountant General of the Federation office and in 1988 he was later posted to the National Assembly Provisional Office, Abuja as one of the pioneer staff of the Constituent Assembly which metamorphosed into the present day National Assembly.

In the discharge of his duty, Adelami had the singular privilege of setting up the Finance and Accounts Department of the National Assembly as we have come to know it.

In 1996, he was invited to help in setting up the Accounts Department of the Petroleum Special Trust Fund. After completion of the tasks, he was also asked to serve at the Family Support Trust Fund where, again, he helped set up the Finance and Accounts Department.

He headed these departments between 1996 and 2000. It is noteworthy that the project of National Hospital, Abuja was executed and delivered during Adelami’s service period.

Adelami was recalled to the National Assembly in 2000 to strengthen the Finance Department. Three years later, he was made the Head of the Finance and Accounts Department.

He remained in this position till 2007 when he was confirmed a Director. The following year, he was nominated for a one-year senior management course at the prestigious National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos.

After the completion of his course at the Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies in 2008, he was assigned a bigger task of pioneering the newly created Department of Procurement and Supplies. Without a single trained staff in procurement processes, Adelami who relishes challenges embarked on the rigorous process of staff training and nurtured the department to an enviable position.

In 2014, he was promoted to the position of Secretary (Permanent Secretary), at the Directorate of Procurement, Estate and Works. A position he held until he was appointed as the Deputy Clerk to the National Assembly.

Chief Adelami’s compassionate nature deeply impacted the community, earning him the nickname “Husband of the Widows”.

Chief Adelami generously donated relief materials worth millions of naira to the internally displaced persons during the persistent unrest in Jos.

He provided financial support to the Rural Missionary fields, aiding in the establishment of places of worship in hard-to-reach regions such as Plateau, Benue, and Nasarawa states.

Active in the Prison Fellowship, Nigeria, Chief Adelami dedicated his time to ministering to both the spiritual and physical needs of prisoners. He held the position of 2nd Vice Chairman of the National Board of Trustees Prison Fellowship for an extended period.