BABATOPE OKEOWO 
BABATOPE OKEOWO writes on the crisis of confidence between the family of former Ondo State governor, Oluwarotini Akeredolu and his successor, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa
In the weeks preceding the death of then governor of Ondo State, Oluwarotmi Akeredolu, his then deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, was embattled. He battled for political survival as members of the State House of Assembly wanted to impeach him.
Expectedly, Aiyedatiwa moved from one court to another to halt the impeachment move. The planned impeachment, sources said was orchestrated by the cabal led by the family of the erstwhile governor and headed by his wife Betty.
Aiyedatiwa, however, survived the impeachment plot following the death of the governor on December 27, 2023. After succeeding Akeredolu in compliance with the provisions of the constitution, Aiyedatiwa defeated other aspirants to clinch the governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He eventually won the governorship election of November 16, 2024 by landslide.
Anniversary rekindles rift
The one year anniversary of the death of Akeredolu coincided with the anniversary of his assumption of office of Governor Aiyedatiwa. To honour his predecessor, Aiyedatiwa organised a lecture to commemorate the death of the former governor. But instead of the lecture to unite Akeredolu’s family and the government headed by Aiyedatiwa, it put a wedge between the duo.
While the government organised the lecture at the International Event Centre (The Dome), Akeredolu’s family held another anniversary event at Owo, the home town of the late governor. The family was absent at the government’s event, while the deputy governor; Dr. Olayide Adelami, represented the government at the Owo event.
The first person to throw tantrum at the government’s event was Akeredolu’s wife, who disparaged the anniversary organised in honour of the late governor. She described the lecture as a way to siphon the resources of the state as the family was not carried along in the planning and was not invited to the occasion.
Betty, in a post on her verified X account titled ‘Re: Purported Aketi lecture by Ondo Lucky can’t be serious!’ wrote: “Which legacy? Lecture, my foot! This is not for Aketi because I and my family are not aware. Damn it! As the saying goes: You and your co-travelers cannot shave Aketi’s head in his absence.
You cannot weep more than the bereaved. This is an insidious propaganda carried too far! “Lucky, you are preoccupied with rubbishing Aketi’s legacy; you can’t succeed, anyway. Anybody close to Aketi and Arabinrin becomes your enemy. Your minions are scared to get close; otherwise, they lose their appointments.
Now you want to pretend by organizing one yeye lecture for Aketi’s memorial as an entry point to chop money on Aketi’s head. You are on your own o! If this is not #yahoo #419 lecture, tell me what it is!” Similarly, the son of the late governor, Babajide, said the family was not carried along in the event organised by the government.
His words “It is important to state unequivocally that Governor Aiyedatiwa was aware of the Akeredolu family’s plans for the remembrance. My uncle and head of the Akeredolu family, Prof. Wole Akeredolu, personally informed the governor at his monthly praise night in November at the Dome in Akure.
The governor acknowledged this and affirmed that the state government would be a part of the event. “Furthermore, an official invitation letter was delivered to the Director of Protocol, Government House, Mr. George Asonja. The letter was duly received and acknowledged.
At no point did the governor or his representatives indicate any conflicting plans or suggest that the state government intended to organise a separate event. It was, therefore, both shocking and deeply disappointing to learn about the state-organised event through social media, just three days before it was held.
“Even more disappointing was that no member of the Akeredolu family was invited to this event. This lack of courtesy and respect is unheard of and unbecoming, especially for an event meant to honour the memory of a former governor and patriarch.
While we recognise that the state government has the prerogative to organise such events, basic decency and protocol demand that the family of the deceased be informed and included.
This glaring oversight leads one to question if it was intentional mischief or based on erroneous advice from the governor’s aides.” The state government held the memorial lecture as scheduled despite opposition by the late former governor’s family.
The lecture was delivered by a Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Femi Falani (SAN), while Bashorun Seinde Arogbofa, an former Secretary General of pan Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, was the chairman of the first in the series of the Akeredolu Leadership Lecture. Top government officials and some friends of the late governor witnessed the event.
Tirade on projects
In a statement titled, “Setting the Record Straight,” Akeredolu’s son, Babajide, said the judicial complex named after his father was a misplaced priority.
He said: “We acknowledge and commend Governor Aiyedatiwa for performing the groundbreaking ceremony for the proposed Judicial Complex, a project initiated by Oluwarotimi Akeredolu. As a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and a passionate advocate for the judiciary, this project was dear to his heart.
However, the current politics surrounding the project are glaring. Naming a project after someone before its completion is both premature and insincere.” Babajide, who was an influential figure in his father’s government, added: “True immortality lies in completing the project and ensuring its functionality.
If the governor is genuinely committed to honoring Akeredolu’s legacy, he must demonstrate this through actions, not empty gestures. As a former Head of the Project Performance and Implementation Monitoring Unit (PPIMU), I am well informed and involved to advise Governor Aiyedatiwa, if he truly wishes to immortalise Akeredolu.
“As a matter of urgency, Mr. Governor should prioritise the completion of key projects initiated by our late patriarch: Upgrade Rufus Giwa Polytechnic to a university, all preliminary studies and recommendations for this upgrade were completed during Akeredolu’s administration. The governor should expedite this process to fulfill his predecessor’s vision.
The flyover at Onyearugbulem Junction, a turnkey project meant to be completed within 18 months, is crawling at a snail speed. Its completion would be a fitting honour to Akeredolu’s commitment to infrastructure development. The road construction behind SIB in Akure has been abandoned, residents are groaning during both the dry and rainy seasons.
Even the shoddy work done on Oda Road since Governor Aiyedatiwa took over pales in comparison to the quality delivered during Akeredolu’s administration.
Babajide further told his father successor to address the glaring discrepancies in salary payments. According to him, “the so-called minimum wage in Ondo State falls short of the lesser wages paid in other states.
When deductions are considered, the high tax element compared to other South-West states has made nonsense of the minimum wage. In Ondo State, the minimum wage table is short of what was promised and announced by the governor. Even after the approval of the table, Mr. Governor still directed further reduction of the amount again.
Urging Governor Aiyedatiwa to halt the vindictive and divisive acts of punishing or ostracizing anyone associated with Akeredolu, Babajide said true loyalty and respect for the late governor cannot coexist with disdain for his policies, family, or vision.
“It is hypocritical and unbecoming of leadership that claims to want to honour the legacy of its predecessor every time the opportunity presents itself,” he said.
Govt reacts
A government spokesperson who said he has not been authorized to speak on the issue, however said: “Let me quickly say that Babajide cannot dictate to the Ondo State government how it would honour a former governor.
Akeredolu was more than a family man; he was an elected leader of the state. The state government played its role in the events organised in Owo by the family, where the deputy governor represented the governor.
“The preparation for the lecture event in Akure had commenced before the invitation for the Owo events was delivered to the state government. The condescending tone of Babajide in his statement over the unavailability of the governor at the family event shows his lack of respect for the Office of the Governor.
Is Babajide unaware of the public attacks and unrestrained abuse that his mother, former First Lady, has melted on the governor since he assumed office? “Is Babajide also unaware of how his mother had embarrassed the governor and deputy governor by ignoring their pleasantries at public events?
That Babajide was privileged to hold a non-existent political office under the administration of his father does not confer on him the right to dictate how government projects and policies are handled by Governor Aiyedatiwa.
“The road projects he mentioned, including Oda road dualisation, Ijoka road dualisation and the Irese flyover, were all abandoned when he and a few others held the state to ransom and caused a needless political crisis during his father’s illness.
All contractors handling the projects, who were not paid for job done, had been nowhere near the projects for close to two years before Governor Aiyedatiwa mobilised them back to site in February this year. “Babajide should cure his ignorance by paying a visit to the road projects to assess the level of progress made in the last one year of the Aiyedatiwa administration.
Those projects suffered under his reign as Director General of the Project Performance and Implementation Monitoring Unit, an office he used to arrogate to himself the title of a defacto governor for three years. Babajide should return all government property he took away before arrogantly making statements on how to run government.”
