The Acting Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has urged the people of the state to embrace unity even as they return the state to the path of “accelerated progress”.
Aiyedatiwa stated this on Thursday morning during a state broadcast on the assumption of office as the acting governor of the state following the transmission of power to him by his principal who is on medical leave and the ratification of the move by the state assembly.
The acting governor urged the people of the South-West state “not to relent, as you have always done, in your prayers for the quick restoration of good health and strength to our leader” Rotimi Akeredolu.
He urged the people of the state to “return quickly to the path of accelerated progress that has eluded the State in the last few months”.
Aiyedatiwa said,
“We must excuse unnecessary distractions. We can no longer be separated in interest or divided in purpose. We must stand together until the end.
“We must come back stronger and more determined to advance the welfare and security of our people, being the primary object of government as encapsulated in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended. Let us build a shared future from a divided past. We owe no less to the good people of the Sunshine State.”
In his speech, Aiyedatiwa said the aborted impeachment process against him by the state assembly and other intrigues following the health challenges of Akeredolu were “avoidable distractions”.
The acting governor said,
“At this juncture, permit me to say that only God Almighty has explanations for what happened in the last few months.
“When nature sets in to hinder human performance, it is always a painful thing. We must acknowledge that the key to the well-being of a man is in the hands of God. It is not for us as humans to question God but to pray for His mercies upon our lives.
“It is in this regard that we admit with all sense of responsibility that the intrigues that ensued due to Mr Governor’s health challenges were indeed avoidable distractions.
“We ought to have done better to keep giving Ondo State the seamless and solid governance which Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, SAN, CON, had established in the State in the last six-and-a-half years.”
He also expressed appreciation to the President and other chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for “providing succor to Ondo State at our critical time of cloud and need”.
Akeredolu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), and former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), won his re-election as the state governor in October 2020 and was sworn in for a second term in office in February 2021.
However, the governor’s second term, since January 2023, has not been a smooth sail as he had to be flown abroad for treatment over a medical condition in June. The 67-year-old politician returned to Nigeria in September after months overseas but stayed in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
Akeredolu has been under intense pressure from opposition parties and activists to resign or hand over power to his deputy in line with the 1999 constitution.
Also, the governor’s loyalists in the state House of Assembly have been at loggerheads with Aiyedatiwa attracting President Bola Tinubu’s intervention.
The governor eventually transmitted power to his deputy this week, even as he commenced another medical leave overseas Wednesday.
