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Tag: Lucky Ayedatiwa

  • Ondo deputy govenor, Aiyedatiwa Presides Over Excos’ Meeting

    Ondo deputy govenor, Aiyedatiwa Presides Over Excos’ Meeting

    Following the illness of Ondo state Governor Rotimi Akeredolu which has kept him away from official duties, the deputy Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa on Thursday presided over a State Executive Council meeting in Akure, the state capital.

    The  much anticipated excos’ meeting occurred after months of political bickering between the deputy governor and Governor Rotimi Akeredolu’s loyalists.

    Last Friday, President Bola Tinubu summoned the warring factions to a meeting in Abuja where it was agreed that the deputy governor should continue to perform his duties as deputy governor.

    Insinuations are rife that the Ondo Assembly may declare Aiyedatiwa the acting governor of the state

    Akeredolu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), and former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), won his re-election as the state governor in October 2020 and was sworn in for a second term in office in February 2021.

    However, the governor’s second term, since January 2023, has not been a smooth sail as he had to be flown abroad for treatment over a medical condition. The 67-year-old politician returned to Nigeria in September after months overseas but has been in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

    Akeredolu has been under intense pressure from opposition parties to resign or hand over power to his deputy in line with the 1999 constitution.

  • Deputy Governor denies allegation of vote buying at Ondo State’s bye-election

    Deputy Governor denies allegation of vote buying at Ondo State’s bye-election

    Ondo State’s deputy governor, Mr Lucky Ayedatiwa, has denied allegations of vote buying at Saturday’s Akure South/Akure North Federal Constituency bye-election.

    Some members of the public alleged that they sighted Aiyedatiwa distributing money at Ward 9, Polling Units 3A & 3B at Oba-Ile, Akure North Local Government Area of the state.

    A voter who requested anonymity claimed to have seen the deputy governor in the act.

    “We saw the deputy governor. He came to share money. Let them share any amount, he will fail. This is opposition party unit; we won’t allow them to snatch any ballot box,’’ she said.

    Ayedatiwa who refuted the allegation vehemently told newsmen that he didn’t leave his Alagbaka neighbourhood in Akure.

    “It is not true. How can I go around distributing money? What is my own with that? Anyone that says so should bring evidence where they saw me distributing money.

    “I live outside Government House. I live among the people. I don’t live in Government House for now. So, if some people say they saw me, maybe they saw me around my area. I don’t understand what they are saying,’’ he said.

    Former Commissioner for Works in Ondo State, Mr Saka Yusuf-Ogunleye, also told newsmen that the deputy governor only went to polling units to monitor the election situation.

    “You can see for yourself that the election is peaceful. As a senior citizen, the deputy governor came to see the situation, seeking the peace of the election.

    “How can he be distributing money? This is not a market place. You were here. You saw by yourself. Did be distribute money?

    “Do they have that record that we have snatched ballot boxes? Why are they insinuating? Are they afraid? It is a peaceful election; we will not create crisis and at the end of the day, a winner will emerge,’’ Yusuf-Ogunleye said.

  • BREAKING: Akeredolu picks ex-NDDC Commissioner as running mate

    BREAKING: Akeredolu picks ex-NDDC Commissioner as running mate

    Ondo Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has unveiled a former Commissioner in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Lucky Ayedatiwa as his running mate for the October 10 governorship poll.

    Akeredolu, who spoke at the swearing-in of new aides, said Ayedatiwa possessed verifiable credentials.

    The Governor stated the decision to pick Ayedeatiwa was taken after wide consultations with party leaders.

    According to him, “The leaders of the party have made wide consultations to choose the most suitable candidate as running mate in the forthcoming gubernatorial election in the state. We have concluded that Mr. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa is the appropriate choice given the prevailing circumstances in the political arena at present.

    ”This person has been with us since the beginning of this political journey in 2012. In arriving at this choice, some important factors assisted the leaders of this great party. We have decided to sever ties with mediocrity and treachery.

    “There is indeed no art to find the mind’s construction in the face. We are also not in any position to change yesterday. We must, however, allow the experiences of the immediate past to guide our decision.

    ” A candidate with verifiable credentials and pedigree has been chosen to complete the last part of the gubernatorial race. We may not have chosen a saint and the best but let it not be said that we, either wittingly or otherwise, settle for an avowed hater of human beings and good things, an enemy of his own people and a serial forger. We owe our people the duty of care in this regard”.