By Ayodele Oni
Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, will soon return to Akure, the seat of power of the State.
The Governor, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, has been out of the State for about four months.
He first went to Germany on a medical vacation after he informed the House of Assembly. In his absence, his Deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, was the Acting Governor.
The Governor returned to Nigeria about a month ago. However, he flew straight to Ibadan, Oyo State capital, and since his return, has not stepped into Akure. He has been governing the State from Ibadan, his residence before he became Governor, in an arrangement, obviously to enable him have some more rest and remove him from stress and pressure.
The State Executive Council Members have been shuffling between Akure and Ibadan to hold meetings with the Governor.
Obviously, this has not gone down well with a number of people in Ondo, especially, members of the main opposition party, the PDP. His absence has also planted seeds of distrust and discord even within his Party, the APC.
One of its outcomes is the absence of a cordial relationship between the Governor and his Deputy. The sour relationship, has triggered a move to impeach the Deputy Governor by the House of Assembly, a move which has, so far, been stalled.
On Monday, the ante was raised in the controversy of the Governor’s continued absence from Akure. The Youth Wing of the opposition PDP which has been issuing statements against the Governor’s absence, and which has called for his resignation from office, planned to stage a protest to demand his immediate return to Akure, or resignation from office.
However, the APC pulled the rug from under PDP’s feet. It raised an alarm, a few days ago, that PDP has concluded plans to stage a protest in the State in connivance with hoodlums in order to disturb the reign of peace. So, on Monday, when the PDP was ready for what the party termed a peaceful protest, Security Operatives were ready for them. It took over PDP’s Secretariat in the State, a move which aborted the protest, and which has been condemned by the Party.
In reaction to the planned protest, the APC accused the PDP of bad faith, and insisted that the State has been running smoothly; that the Governor has been discharging his duties without any hitch, his location notwithstanding.
It also said that the planned protest was of no use as the would be back to Akure soon.
Said the APC, “We are optimistic that our Governor, your performing Governor, will be in our midst in a matter of days.”
But a twist has been added to the planned, aborted protest by the PDP Youths.
A Group, Ondo Masses Solidarity Movement, MSM, has accused the embattled Deputy Governor of being behind the aborted PDP protest against the Governor. Said its Coordinator, Jeremiah Ogunyemi, ” We have it on good authority that the Deputy Governor instigated the protest and had already sponsored some youths to join the protest. A meeting was held at a hotel in Akure last night where money was shared among the youths.”
The Deputy Governor has not reacted to this allegation, yet. If the APC is to be believed, Governor Akeredolu will be back to the State, perhaps, within the week or, as a source said, over the weekend.
