It’s no longer a surprise that Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, the Governor of Ondo State, has returned to the country after spending several months on a medical vacation in Germany.
After a well-deserved rest in a foreign land, Governor Akeredolu arrived back in the country a few weeks ago, heading straight to his private residence in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State. His return was met with jubilation among family, friends, and associates, especially those in the political arena.
Upon informing the State House of Assembly about his return, he promptly resumed his official duties.
However, it’s worth noting that not everyone was pleased with his return, particularly some politicians in the state, especially those aligned with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Some of them had devised strategies to capitalize on the governor’s previous health issues to advance their positions in the upcoming gubernatorial election next year. They believed that the governor’s return to office was unlikely due to reports of his incapacitation.
While Governor Akeredolu was receiving medical treatment in Germany, there were reports of political maneuvering within the Ondo APC. These actions raised doubts about the loyalty of the governor’s aides and political associates, particularly those within the Southern Governors’ Forum. Allegations emerged that some of the governor’s aides had shifted their loyalty elsewhere and were actively working to secure power in the 2024 governorship election.
Furthermore, it was revealed that some members of the state executive council, led at the time by the former acting governor (who has since resumed his position as deputy governor following the governor’s return), Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, were divided.
This division had a negative impact on governance as politics began to overshadow administrative matters. The political interests of the governor’s cabinet members and certain aides, who were reportedly eyeing the 2024 elections, were said to be the driving force behind this situation. It appeared that everyone had aspirations to become the governor.
Aiyedatiwa and several members of Governor Akeredolu’s cabinet were rumored to be interested in contesting the governorship election next year. Consequently, the political atmosphere became tense, with these contenders viewing each other as rivals, despite all being members of the same political party. This rivalry was concealed at public events, but they allegedly closely monitored each other’s public and private activities, reporting their findings to the governor to determine who remained loyal.
A source claimed that every instance of loyalty or disloyalty was reported to the governor upon his return, leading to a “surgical operation” within the government house.
As a result of these developments, some media aides of the governor, who were attached to the office of the deputy governor, were recently dismissed. According to Mr. Richard Olatunde, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Akeredolu, the affected aides included Kenneth Odusola (Press Secretary to the Governor), Okunniga Oladipupo (Special Assistant to the Governor – New Media), and Abayomi Samson Adefolalu (Special Assistant to the Governor – Photography).
These former aides were allegedly involved in actions deemed disloyal to the governor during his medical leave, such as posting anti-governor content on social media platforms while showing loyalty to their immediate superior, Aiyedatiwa.
“One of the sacked aides openly abused the governor on his WhatsApp status and the screenshot is with the governor’s people. The deputy governor media aides are the ones causing disaffection in the government. They are the ones going about saying Aiyedatiwa will complete Akeredolu’s tenure. It’s like they wished the governor dead. One of them was investigated and findings has it that he had engaged in planting some stories against the governor,” the source narrated.
Similarly, some groups have been accusing the deputy governor of not being totally loyal to his boss as they alleged that on many occasions; the deputy governor had been caught exhibiting some acts of disloyalty against his boss.
Having discovered the alleged disloyalty, a source among the cabinet members disclosed that Aiyedatiwa was allegedly not allowed, by some powerful governor’s loyalists, to perform certain functions in the office as an acting governor in order not to utilize the governorship position to take some steps that could shoot him ahead of the other political gladiators in the ruling party.
However, Aiyedatiwa denied all the allegations against him in a statement issued by his erstwhile media aide, Mr. Kenneth Odusola-Stevenson, describing all the allegations against him as the handiwork of his political detractor and faceless groups and individuals in the state to soil his image and pull him down politically. He expressed his total loyalty to his boss.
The statement read, “We need to remind the public that this is a continuation of the blackmail started by these same characters some months ago, with false stories planted in some media outlets against the deputy governor. However, since those lies did not yield the result they envisaged, the blackmailers have returned with fake stories about disloyalty, aimed at causing disaffection between him and the governor.
“These faceless individuals, who have been hiding their identities because what they are putting out are pure fabrications, are being sponsored by those who are threatened by the profile of the deputy governor, his relationship with his boss, and the goodwill he enjoys with the people.
“Many stakeholders have commended the deputy governor for the way he handled the affairs of the state while he was Acting Governor, despite all his detractors did to provoke him into taking drastic actions. He avoided their booby traps and they tripped on their own banana peels.”
He added, “Now that Mr. Governor is back and has started working, the deputy governor remains calm and committed to the duties of his office and unruffled by the lies of desperate politicians and their agents. The deputy governor remains loyal to his principal and no amount of fabricated lies will change that. “
The Special Assistant to the Governor on Special Duties and Strategy, Dr. Doyin
Odebowale, on Channels TV recently confirmed insinuations and impressions that the people were having about the happenings and intrigue that took place in the government circle during the absence of Mr. Governor.
Odebowale said, “I can tell you for free, when he (Akeredolu) was away, there was little of governance. People want to contest, they want to be governor, they want to be this and that. It is their right but they were distracting us (other media aides) and they were recruiting people to distract us.
“The governor is not petty. While he was in Germany, he was asking people questions and giving directives; contrary to the impression created that he was seriously incapacitated. Now he is back, nobody is talking about the shenanigans that occurred when he was away. The shenanigans were about the coming election and the governor is not contesting again.
“As a member of this government, I was appalled at some of the things that happened. We know that certain members of the state executive council were contesting and some people outside are also contesting and it is legitimate but what we ask for is that they should not distract us.
“They posted the obituary of their fathers and not the governor more than five times. Posting the governor’s obituary because they wanted power. They were overheating the polity asking for power, money, funds like that. They created the impression that the governor was not in charge of anything. They attacked the first family, abusing everybody.”
In the same vein, a reliable source in the Government House disclosed that more ‘surgery operation’ is likely to happen in the governor’s cabinet very soon as some members of the state executive council may also get fired following the alleged disloyal roles they played against their boss.
The source said, “More aides and commissioners may go because the governor is most likely to reshuffle or dissolve his cabinet any moment from now. Some of them thought the man (governor) would not come back. As he returned now, he knew the roles everyone played in his absence. Those who are not loyal and pretend to be loyal, the governor knows”.
