Blocked By The CP, Ondo Deputy Governor, Resigns; Governor Says He Lied

By Adesina Soyooye

For months, the strong rumour had been brewing; The rumour that between the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, and his Deputy, Agboola Ajayi, there is no love lost.

Each time, casual denials followed. But in the night of Saturday June 20, the s..t hit the fan, and messed up everywhere in a scandalous incident.

Deputy Governor Ajayi resigned from office, as well as from his party, the APC. In a terse resignation letter, dated June 20, addressed to the Chairman of his Ward 2, Karibo Ese-Odo LGA, he said he had quit his membership of the party.

But he did not leave quietly. An unfortunate incident played out at the gate of the Government House on his way out.

In a video which has gone viral, he was blocked from leaving with his official vehicles by a contingent of Police led by the Commissioner of Police in the State.

Media reports said the Police were deployed by Governor Akeredolu. But in a press release, signed on his behalf by his Chief Press Secretary, Oluuwasegun Smart Ajiboye, the Governor says: perish the thought, and dismissed Ajayi as a liar.

In the  video,  both the CP and Ajayi were seen in a heated argument.

Ajayi’s letter of resignation was dated June 20th, but became public on Sunday June 21st.

Apparently, his letter of resignation was sent to the CP, as soon as he submitted it. The CP alluded to that during their argument.

It is not known what the former Deputy Governor was still doing in the Govenment House, having resigned, or if he was still entitled to his official cars, but an inventory ought to have been taken before he left office.

The Government said that was the only thing that was being done, and wondered what he was taking out of the Government House wrapped in suspicious non-transparent parcels as late as 11.00pm, with unclear ownership.

In the release entitled:

Re:  Ondo Deputy Stopped From Leaving Government House the government said Ajayi wanted to play the victim, and deliberately tarnish the Governor’s image. It reads:

“The Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, has debunked stories making the round on the social media in respect of the above. The Governor describes the stories as absolute falsehood intended to play victim by the principal actors involved.

“The Governor said the story, which claimed that the Commissioner of Police, Ondo State Command, restrained  the Deputy Governor from leaving the Government House on his directive was a concorted and devious lie meant to discredit him.

“It should, however, be placed on record that it is a time-tested code in government’s business for officials to take inventory of offices and quarters before, and after an official is moving in, or out of offices or quarters.

“Accordingly, the CP’s intervention, which was at the instance of an almost manipulated security apparatus at the Government House, was most desirable to restore law and order. It becomes particularly worrisome and suspicious when aides of the Deputy Governor insisted on leaving the premises with items wrapped in unclear ownership as late as 11 pm.

“Governor Akeredolu reiterates his commitment to the rights of all, including the Deputy Governor. But he has a duty to be firm and dispassionate in exercising the roles assigned to him”

The former Deputy Governor is expected to declare for the opposition PDP, under which, it is speculated, he would challenge his former boss for the Governorship seat.