The Peoples Democratic Party chapter in Ondo State said on Sunday that it was long overdue for Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, who was ill, to delegate authority to his deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who would serve as acting governor.
The governor’s poor health has caused Ondo State to stagnate over the past six months, according to the PDP. The governor returned to Germany last week for additional medical care.
On Thursday, the state House of Assembly acknowledged a letter from Akeredolu transferring authority to the deputy and recognized Aiyedatiwa as acting governor.
Kennedy Peretei, the Ondo PDP’s publicity secretary, told v that Aiyedatiwa ought to take initiative and advance the state in his remarks on Sunday’s developments.
He said, “Akeredolu’s medical vacation is long overdue, l don’t know why they waited this long to do this. The Ondo State is already the butt of every joke. Let’s pray that things will at least move in the state instead of the stagnation witnessed in the last six months.”
Meanwhile, the state Commissioner for Information and Orientation Mrs Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, has cleared air on the purported freezing of accounts of the local governments in the state by the state government.
An unofficial piece of information, purportedly from the office of the acting governor, had surfaced online last Friday directing council caretaker chairmen not to tamper with the finances of their local governments.
However, the information commissioner, in a statement on Sunday, said the acting governor had not given any order to freeze the council’s account, describing the report as untrue.
Ademola-Olateju said, “At no time has the acting Governor or any functionary of the state put a freeze on local government accounts or order any closure. This information is fake and baseless. We ask that the good people of Ondo State, particularly officials of local governments, disregard the rumour.
“Necessary complimentary personnel/civil servants have been deployed to the LCDAs and they have been advised to exercise due diligence and processes in their operations by the government.
“The state government is committed to proper functioning of the new 33 LCDAs and the existing 18 LGAs in the state as a way of enhancing development at the grassroots.”
