Political actors in Ondo State continue to fight dirty over the negative health status of governor Rotimi Akeredolu which has been shrouded in secrecy, as well as his inability to return to the state for governance, but prefers to run the state from another state, Ibadan in Oyo State
By Our Correspondent
The “Royal Rumble” amongst political actors in Ondo State over health status of the governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, which is tearing the fabrics of the oil-rich state apart is yet to abate. Political actors in the state are going for one another jugular over who controls the affairs of the state in the absence of the incumbent governor. Since Akeredolu traveled out of the state last May on a medical trip to Europe, and returned last September, Ondo State has never had peace as the camp of the deputy governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa and that of the ailing governor have engaged in a roforofo fight over who will succeed the governor. Also, since last September, the governor whose sickness has been hidden from the public has chosen to be ruling from Ibadan in Oyo State, causing many to allege that the governor has become incapacitated. The opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the state had recently issued an ultimatum that it would picket the government house if the governor did not return to the state after two weeks.
A senior advocate in the state, Dr Kayode Ajulo, SAN, had last week alleged that the governor may have been incapacitated, and therefore should relinquish power to his deputy based on constitutional provisions. Ajulo, among numerous other allegations, insisted that if the governor was merely recuperating as claimed by his aides and commissioners, he should have spoken up and returned to the state for governance. Despite President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s intervention in the Ondo State saga, Ajulo insisted that such intervention by Tinubu was unconstitutional.
The legal luminary further alleged that the documents purportedly signed by Akeredolu from Ibadan was fake, claiming that some government officials were forging Akeredolu’s signature. “I have it on good authority as a lawyer. Some of the Commissioners, about five of them, sent memos to the governor, and they all returned with approval.
“Going through the approval compared to what the governor had approved when he was hale and hearty, there are notable disparities in them.
“The Police and the Administration of Justice Act has made it clear that there can be private investigators who have been contacted because of the issue, and their results are so damning. The EFCC needs to visit Ondo State to ask some questions.
“The purported signature is not from the governor, it is apparent “.
Ajulo alleged that only the five Commissioners were holding the state to ransom, and do not want the deputy governor Aiyedatiwa to take full responsibility of the state affairs to the detriment of governance in the state.
In reaction to Ajulo’s allegations, a member of the Akeredolu cabinet, Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, accused the Senior Advocate of bias, and said he is not a state actor, and thus was not in position to speak authoritatively on the issue. Ademola-Olateju said that the governor was “coming out the furnace of a terrible disease” which she declined to make public.
Ademola-Olateju: “The governor is in Ibadan. The governor is still recuperating. He is not as strong as he used to be in the time past.
“I saw the governor last September in Ibadan, I also spoke with him last two weeks. I don’t have any reason to see him, it’s the SSG that takes memos to him.
“Our governor is not incapacitated, he can move his hands and legs, only he cannot play table tennis.
On the allegation that five Commissioners were forging the governor’s signature as alleged by Ajulo, Ademola-Olateju said, “The governor has been signing my memos since 2021, I know his signature. If you want to say his signature is forged, let’s see the whole document, show us the original and the fake. We’re familiar with the governor’s signature, nobody should come and bamboozle us with the governor’s signature”.
Contending with Ajulo’s submission which she regretted was malicious, Ademola-Olateju said, “Kayode Ajulo is my friend, he used to send me messages on WhatsApp, but I don’t want to attack him. He has an aggressive way of addressing this kind of issue, that is not good for a person of his legal stature. But has he called anybody in government to ask us what is happening? He just listened to one side and took sides”.
