As Ondo Ex SSG Recants, Gov Akeredolu Says He Must Go To Jail

By Ayodele Oni

Ondo state Governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, has said that he was not part of any election fraud in 2016 which facilitated his victory in the governorship poll.

Apparently reacting to allegations by his former SSG who claimed that he never won the election, the governor called on security agents and the nation’s electoral umpire to investigate the allegation.

A statement by his Chief Press Secretary,  Mr Segun Ajiboye reads “In a manner not uncharacteristic, the former SSG, shortly after submitting his resignation letter, equally granted a press interview wherein he made some allegations against the Governor.

“A quick run of the allegations shows a semblance of sustained recycling of falsehood as well as blackmail contents targeted at Mr. Governor and his immediate family. These are pernicious lies and imaginary thoughts lines considered perennial and seemingly becoming boring.

”It is, however, imperative to draw the attention of the Nation’s Security Agencies to a particular outburst wherein the former SSG confessed to have participated in electoral fraud in 2016.

“Mr Governor, as an avid believer in Democracy, Rule of Law and Legality, is not a beneficiary of the fraud Hon. Ifedayo Abegunde and his unnamed co-horts allegedly, perpetrated during the 2016 governorship election. He would not encourage such; not even in the coming election.

“Ordinarily, the former SSG’s vituperations which have come under heavy criticisms are assuaging. This is even as the voluntary dispatch of his shortcomings and emotional distress are enough to attract empathy.

“Nevertheless, Abegunde’s outbursts are weighty confessions that must be investigated by security agencies. Anything to the contrary will not only encourage future acts as contained in the confessions. Such brazen anti-democratic acts are unambiguously, grave dangers to our fledgling electoral system.”

The former SSG however in a twist, denied ever saying that the opposition People’s Democratic Party, (PDP) won the 2016 governorship poll in Ondo state.

Addressing newsmen in Akure on Tuesday, Abegunde disclosed that he pleaded with Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu to bring all the aggrieved leaders of the party together, but to no avail saying if the governor had united the party, he wouldn’t have resigned from the cabinet.

According to him, “At this point, moving forward in my political career, I want to announce that I have made up my mind, after consulting with my followers that we are going to pitch our tent with one of the aspirants, who I believe would lift the state up from this mare that it’s currently in. He’s no other person than Dr. Olusegun Abraham.

“I wish to reiterate that at no time did I say that the PDP won the 2016 election. That’s far from the truth. If at all, the APC won with a wide margin so that the PDP thought it fruitless to join issues on it at the court of law.

“However, I only stressed that it was a steady and concerted efforts of our loyal party stalwarts of which I was prominent that won that election.

“You know, we all contested election in 2016. It’s that election that brought the present governor to power.

“I said Governor Akeredolu was not the one that won the election, that we the people won the election for him. That we contributed all our efforts. At the end of the day, he thought it wise, thinking that he owns the government.”