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Tag: Akeredolu

  • Akeredolu directs cabinet members, close aides to undergo compulsory COVID-19 test

    Akeredolu directs cabinet members, close aides to undergo compulsory COVID-19 test

    Ondo Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has directed all members of his cabinet, close aides and others who have had reasons for constant contacts with him to undergo compulsory COVID-19 tests.

    Akeredolu has since gone into self isolation after he tested positive for COVID-19.

    A statement by Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Donald Ojogo, said the Governor resolved to self-isolate in line with accepted global standards in respect of COVID-19 protocols and to ensure a proper determination and direction of focus.

    According to the statement: “Mr. Governor trusts in God that all will be well even as he seeks the prayers of all and sundry during this period.

    “There is nothing to fear and no component of Government business will be adversely affected within the period of the Governor’s self-isolation. In this regard, Mr. Governor calls on all to be steadfast and remain committed to his or her assigned official responsibilities.

    ” Mr. Governor calls on his Campaign Team to continue with all planned events and itineraries as regards the Re-run Project. We shall win and win big, he assures.”

  • (Video) Akeredolu on his Covid-19 status: ‘I am positive, but asymptomatic’

    (Video) Akeredolu on his Covid-19 status: ‘I am positive, but asymptomatic’

    Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has tested positive for coronavirus.

    Akeredolu, who confirmed his status while speaking in Akure, the Ondo State capital, added that he had isolated himself and is being attended to at home.

    Watch video:

    He said: “Earlier today, I got confirmation of a positive result for COVID-19. I am not displaying any symptoms.

    “I am currently self-isolating and supervised home management will be administered by the wonderful team at our Infectious Disease Hospital.

    “I ask that we all stay safe and be well.”

  • Ondo 2020: Governorship aspirant, Olusola Oke submits APC’s nomination form, demands direct primary

    Ondo 2020: Governorship aspirant, Olusola Oke submits APC’s nomination form, demands direct primary

    A governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, Olusola Oke, has arrived at the National Secretariat of the party to submit his nomination and expression of interest forms.

    He was accompanied by supporters from the state.

    Oke said, “During the last (general) election, our party lost two senators and the presidential election due to bad leadership and anti-party activities.

    “I am here to present my nomination and expression of interest forms for the Ondo Governorship election.

    “Why indirect primary cannot be used in Ondo State at this moment is that the APC in our state is polarised into two; but I assure you that with a good candidate we will deliver.

    “All of our leaders and myself are on one side, only Akeredolu is on one side. Even the state exco- their emergence is still a subject of litigation.

    “We are asking for direct primary, that is the system that will give every aspirant equal opportunities if Akeredolu emerges (through this system), we will support him.”

  • [TNG Analysis] Ondo 2020: APC’s politics of acrimony as Akeredolu throws caution to the wind

    [TNG Analysis] Ondo 2020: APC’s politics of acrimony as Akeredolu throws caution to the wind

    By Emman Ovuakporie

    Governor Rotimi Akeredolu is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN with so many years of legal practice attached to his tall credentials.

    A former President of Nigeria Bar Association, NBA with an impeccable record to display.

    But events unfolding in his Sunshine State clearly indicate that his immaculate records needed to be x-rayed a second time.

    He threw caution to the wind immediately his deputy, Hon Agboola Ajayi left him to sail alone.

    His first mission after he lost his deputy was to fire all his aides without thinking of tomorrow.

    It will cost him nothing to retain his aides because their salaries are already budgeted and the money can never go to his pocket.
    His predecessor, Olusegun Mimiko will be adored by most politicians in Ondo for one singular reason.

    As soon as Mimiko assumed office in 2008 he paid the severance fees of all political appointees from 1999-2008 thereby touching the lives of those men and women who were in government house before his emergence.

    In Edo State, Akeredolu’s suspended chairman, Adams Oshiomhole chased away virtually everybody that was associated with his predecessor, Senator Oserheimen Osunbor.

    Nobody can tell the story better than this writer because he was a victim as a former aide to Osunbor.

    Just the way he de-marketed his new god son so we were labeled thieves in Edo months after we had returned government vehicles and properties in our possession.

    It’s on record that till date no aide of Osunbor was paid severance but today we are all watching him doing his macabre dance alone.

    In the case of Akeredolu, he is too polished and too refined to degenerate to the level of his suspended chairman who probably did not see the four walls of a grammar school.

    But quickly forgot that it was the benevolence of very kind gods that elevated him to such lofty positions he attained on planet earth.

    Akeredolu should take a cue from his predecessor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko and reinstate those men and women he fired in the name of politics.

    Heaven will not fall rather he will be elevated before men.

  • INEC rejects APC’s notice of Ondo gov primary

    INEC rejects APC’s notice of Ondo gov primary

    The Independent National Electoral Commission has rejected the notice of the Ondo State governorship primary sent to it by the ruling All Progressives Congress.

    The electoral body hinged its decision on the fact that the notice was signed by only the party’s acting National Secretary.

    It said that was contrary to the commission’s guidelines, which required that such notice should be jointly signed by the National Chairman and National Secretary of a political party.

    The commission conveyed its position to the APC in a letter dated June 22, 2020, and signed by its Secretary, Mrs. Rose Oriaran-Anthony.

    The letter marked INEC/DEPIM/APC/522/T.3 with the title, ‘Re: Notice of conduct of primaries,’ was addressed to the party’s national chairman.

    In rejecting the notice, INEC asked the APC to issue a fresh notice that would comply with its guidelines.

    The letter read in part, “The commission notes that your notice scheduling the conduct of the APC Ondo State governorship primary for July 20, 2020, was signed by only the acting national secretary.

    “Accordingly, your party is advised to issue an appropriate notice for the conduct of its Ondo State governorship primary in line with relevant provisions of the regulations and guidelines for the conduct of party primaries.”

  • Akeredolu masterminding my impeachment through bribery – Deputy Gov cries out

    Akeredolu masterminding my impeachment through bribery – Deputy Gov cries out

    Ondo Deputy Governor Agboola Ajayi has raised the alarm over moves by Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu to impeach him.

    Ajayi resigned from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) where he hopes to contest the governorship election.

    Ajayi who insisted on no resigning his position said Governor Akeredolu planned to impeach him through illegal and unconstitutional means.

    He said the ‘illegal’ impeachment would be carried out through financial inducement of members of Ondo Assembly to the tune of N10m each.

    Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Babatope Okeowo, Ajayi alleged the Assembly complex has been besieged by men of the Nigeria Police while lawmakers that do not comply were prevented from entering the complex.

    According to the statement: “We wish to state that the deputy governor is a tested politician of note, who is not unprepared for this type of kangaroo and infamous move from the desperate and drowning governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu and his group.

    “By joining People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Agboola Ajayi has not committed any impeachable offence. He has only exercised his constitutional right of freedom of association. Section 40 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) provides as follows:

    “Every person shall be entitled to assemble freely and associate with other persons, and in particular, he may form or belong to any political party, trade union or any association for the protection of his interests.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, we state unequivocally that the Governor and his allies do not have and cannot muster the requisite majority in the House of Assembly for the removal of the Deputy Governor under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 in any free, fair and transparent process.

    “We remain undaunted in the move to throw off the combined weight of those kneeling on the neck of Ondo State. Our state shall not be allowed to suffocate. At the appropriate time, the people of Ondo State shall decide the right person, who will serve as the arrowhead of the bid to save the state from the nepotistic clique kneeling on her neck.”

    Reacting, Ondo Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Donald Ojogo described the allegation as the height of perfidy and another pernicious warp from an intellectually challenged and treacherous personality.

    “Knowledge cannot be procured, but only be acquired. For anyone to aver that lawmakers have been financially induced is a gross display of emptiness.

    “It becomes more laughable when such comes from someone who had boasted about having majority members in the Assembly. Clearly, while the Executive led by Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, SAN does not believe in inducement, it is left for our very reputable Legislative Arm to either confirm or debunk this spurious allegation,” he said.

  • Ondo Deputy Gov reappoints aides sacked by Akeredolu

    Ondo Deputy Gov reappoints aides sacked by Akeredolu

    The crisis in Ondo State took a new turn after the Deputy Governor, Agboola Ajayi reappointed aides sacked by the Governor, Romiti Akeredolu.

    Governor Akeredolu sacked the Special Assistant on New Media to the embattled Deputy Governor, Allen Sowore, and later sacked his Chief Press Secretary, Babatope Okeowo alongside his five other aides, and his wife.

    The aides of the Deputy Governor were sacked two days after their boss dumped the ruling, All Progressives Congress, APC for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

    In an interview with newsmen, the embattled Chief Press Secretary, Okeowo affirmed that the deputy governor had reappointed all the aides sacked by the State Governor.

    “ Yes, it is true that the governor announced our sack, but there is no cause for alarm, as we have been reabsorbed by the Deputy Governor”.

    Recall that on Sunday, Ajayi quit the APC, following protracted friction between him and the governor, and subsequently picked the membership card of the PDP.

  • Akeredolu sacks Sowore

    Akeredolu sacks Sowore

    Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has relieved Mr Allen Sowore, the Special Assistant on New Media to the embattled Deputy Governor, Agboola Ajayi, of his appointment with immediate effect.

    This is contained in a statement issued on Tuesday in Akure by Mr Olusegun Ajiboye, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor and made available to newsmen.

    Ondo State Deputy Governor Ajayi had been at loggerheads with his boss, Akeredolu, for some time before he finally resigned from the All Progressives Congress and joined the People’s Democratic Party.

    Ajayi, however, maintains that he remains the deputy governor of the state in spite of his leaving the All Progressives Congress.

    The statement advised Sowore to submit all government’s property in his possession to the Chief of Staff to the Governor.

  • Akeredolu orders CP to prevent deputy from exiting govt house

    Akeredolu orders CP to prevent deputy from exiting govt house

    Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu has allegedly ordered the Commissioner of Police, Bolaji Salami to prevent his deputy, Agboola Ajayi from leaving the Government House.

    In a viral video circulated by one of the aides to the deputy governor, Ajayi was seen confronting the police boss, asking him why he is being prevented from moving out of the seat of power.

    According to reports, Governor Akeredolu sent the Police Commissioner to bar the deputy governor from leaving, following his planned defection to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

    Confirming the incident, the Chief Press Secretary to the Deputy Governor, Babatope Okeowo said that Salami prevented Ajayi from moving out having gotten wind that some political thugs were coming to attack him there.

    According to Okeowo, his principal was detained by the CP for about four hours, between 8pm and past 12 midnight.

    He added that the police at the Government House snatched the keys of the vehicle from the driver, while the driver abandoned the vehicle and left.

    But in his reaction, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Akeredolu, Segun Ajiboye debunked the incident.

    He explained that what actually happened was that the deputy governor was about moving out of the government house in the night and the security detailed there advised him to wait till daybreak so that proper inventory could be done.

    Ajiboye noted that when the deputy governor insisted on moving, the Chief Security Officer of the promptly called the CP who rushed down to the scene to persuade the deputy governor.

    Meanwhile, the spokesperson of Ondo State Police Command, Tee-Leo Ikoro revealed that the police boss was invited by police details at the Government House to settle a clash between the governor’s aides and those of the deputy governor.

    Ikoro said it was false that the governor ordered the CP to prevent the deputy governor from leaving the government house.

    According to him, the CP was there to calm down the situation and prevent any breakdown of law and order that could arise due to the disagreement.

  • I’m not involved in my deputy, police saga – Akeredolu

    Ondo Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has denied allegations that he was responsible for the action taken by the Police against his Deputy, Hon Agboola Ajayi, on Saturday night.

    Ajayi was held back at the Government House as Ondo Police Commissioner, Bolaji Salami, insisted that he would not leave with his official vehicles.

    Akeredolu, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Segun Ajiboye, described the report as a complete falsehood intended to play victim by the principal actors involved.

    Akeredolu said it was a concorted and devious lie meant to discredit him that he directed the Police Commissioner to restrain the Deputy Governor from leaving the Government House.

    He explained it was 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.

    The governor said 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.

    He stated that it became 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 governor. But he has a duty to be firm and dispassionate in exercising the roles assigned to him,” he said.