Doyin Odebowale, the Senior Special Assistant on Special Duties and Strategy, claimed that the locals in Ondo State experienced sub-optimal governance when Governor Rotimi Akeredolu was absent for three months, due to the actions of government officials.
‘I can tell you for free, yes, when he was away, there was little of governance,’ Odebowale said on Channels Television’s Politics Today, six days after the governor arrived in Nigeria from medical leave abroad, notably in Germany.
‘People wanting to contest – yes, they want to be governor, they want to be this, they want to be that. It is within their right but they were distracting us and they were recruiting people.’
As Akeredolu’s second term nears its end in roughly 17 months, anticipation builds for a crucial election slated for the latter portion of 2024 to elect his replacement.
Odebowale made it clear that the primary focus of governance should be the welfare of the people, insisting that officials to place service to the people above political pursuits.
‘The governor is not interested in these petty politics that people have reduced the whole state to in his absence,’ he added.
Read also: Akeredolu Convenes With Ondo NASS Delegation In Ibadan
These statements are made in light of speculation regarding a purported rift between Akeredolu and Deputy Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, which was ignited by the governor’s disbandment of his deputy’s media team and the directive for all members to return government properties without delay.
‘Talking about their relationship, I know the governor and the deputy still met a few days ago. There’s no problem at all,’ Odebowale said.
The senior aide categorically rebuffed comparisons with Ondo State, where there is a widely held belief that Governor Godwin Obaseki and Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu are in a state of contention due to the deputy governor’s legal challenge regarding an alleged impeachment scheme by the governor.
Although the legal action was withdrawn at a later point, Shaibu has chosen to relocate his office to a more remote area, distancing himself from the Government House quarters.
‘I don’t want to believe that what is happening in Edo State is what we’re following,’ Odebowale argued.
‘No, we cannot follow Edo State. This is Ondo State. Ondo State will do what is right.’
When questioned about Aiyedatiwa’s potential candidacy for the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket, the special duties aide responded, ‘He has not told me so; he has not told anybody so’.
‘But because we are in this state, we know that certain members of this cabinet are contesting and some people who are outside too want to contest and that is legitimate,’ he added.
However, Odebowale is calling for the ambitions of those within the state government to be managed in a way that doesn’t detract from the efforts of others.