President Donald Trump's executive order ends the federal government's diversity, equity and inclusion program (DEI) program, which has returned financial power to the people.
Olka said there was a "new sheriff in the town" and Trump "does good" in his commitment to eliminate DEI by shifting financial policies from left and right to center, empowering state finance officials and building trust with the American people.
Oleka told Fox News Digital at a meeting of the State Financial Officials Foundation in Orlando, Florida.
Focusing on performance-based incentives for DEI or environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies provides shareholders with more funding, a better employee culture in the office and a better culture for consumers and customers, Oleka said, as demanded by national financial officials.
The White House vows to implement a "merit system" in the United States and remove dei "ransomware"
Fox News Digital spoke with OJ Oleka, CEO of the State Financial Officials Foundation in Orlando, Florida. (Getty/Fox Numbers)
"The American people want everyone to succeed," Olka said. "They want people to succeed in their strengths, abilities, skills. This is very important for us as Americans. But they don't want to gain preference just because of some kind of political ideology."
He said there was a misunderstanding about dei. "Because people hear diversity, fairness and inclusion, they think, 'Well, these are good things. I support diversity. I want people to be included and people should have the resources they need."
"It's very clear that when we talk about dei, we say that Dei tries to provide people with race or gender preferences based on past dissatisfaction. In fact, it has nothing to do with merit, or to look at someone's job skills or gain opportunities."
Influential senators accused of hiding the DEI program's main university medical centers call them
Oleka said equal opportunity is enabling people to create their own opportunities to achieve their skills, abilities and merits as much as they can.
Oleka explains that Dei is subjective because it tends to "based on your own politics, what you think is important."
“From a company perspective, it's incredible, "Let's hire people based on gender" rather than skills and abilities," Oleka said.
“It’s bad because it hurts the performance of the company’s actual responsibility for its business. It’s important for our financial officials because they invest in many of these companies. The job of being a trust leader ensures that the pensions they invest in, the public funds they invest in, are actually done by the company and the funds, and the rate of return is high.
OJ Oleka, CEO of the National Financial Officials Foundation, spoke with Fox News Digital at the State Financial Officials Foundation meeting in Orlando, Florida. (Fox News figures)
"We cannot guarantee that if a company does not even focus on their specific responsibilities, their responsibilities will be as high as their responsibilities. Instead, they focus on their own politics and try to force an ideology or social agenda through the business. This is not the purpose of the business."
Olka said his experience as a PhD person. In higher education, the son of Nigerian immigrants, he rejected political ideology or agenda in government funded programs including public education, because these policies do not improve students’ learning experience or academic performance.
"It doesn't actually contribute to children's learning," Olka said. "It doesn't contribute to human prosperity. There's really no reason to spend people's taxpayers on that."
President Donald Trump speaks at an energy production activity in the East Room of the White House in Washington on April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Oleka told Fox News Digital that Orlando Digital is crucial to reminding state finance officials across the country who are not alone in opposing DEI and ESG policies advocated by former President Joe Biden’s administration.
"This goes back to what I think most Americans believe. Their state government is closer to them than the federal government," he said. "As a result, state leaders should have more power than the federal government because it is related to their finances, and the measures that state leaders should take to return it to the people."
Click here to get the Fox News app
Oleka said more Americans are economically motivated by empowering state finance officials to focus on financial returns and fiduciary obligations rather than ideology and politics.
“It is important that we have the same leadership skills at the state level in the White House and have a good commitment to bringing the Golden Age to the United States and every state,” he said.