PDP: Aiyedatiwa should end Ondo stagnation

The decision by sick Governor Rotimi Akeredolu to transfer authority to his deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, to serve as acting governor was hailed by the Peoples Democratic Party branch in Ondo State as long overdue on Sunday.

The PDP claims that the governor’s poor health—he returned to Germany last week for additional medical care—is the reason Ondo State has stalled over the past six months.

After accepting a letter from Akeredolu transferring authority to the deputy, the state House of Assembly recognized Aiyedatiwa as acting governor on Thursday.

Speaking about the development on Sunday, Kennedy Peretei, the Ondo PDP’s publicity secretary, advised people that Aiyedatiwa ought to take initiative and advance the state.

He said, “Akeredolu’s medical vacation is long overdue, l don’t know why they waited this long to do this. The Ondo State is already the butt of every joke. Let’s pray that things will at least move in the state instead of the stagnation witnessed in the last six months.”

Meanwhile, the state Commissioner for Information and Orientation Mrs Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, has cleared air on the purported freezing of accounts of the local governments in the state by the state government.

An unofficial piece of information, purportedly from the office of the acting governor, had surfaced online last Friday directing council caretaker chairmen not to tamper with the finances of their local governments.
The information commissioner, however, denied the report’s veracity in a statement released on Sunday, stating that the acting governor had not issued an order freezing the council’s account.

“At no point has the acting governor or any state employee placed a freeze on local government accounts or ordered any closure,” stated Ademola-Olateju. This is false and unfounded information. We therefore request that the good people of Ondo State, in especially the local government authorities, ignore the rumors.

“The government has sent the necessary supplementary staff and civil workers to the LCDAs, and they have been advised to conduct due care and processes in their operations.
“The state government is dedicated to ensuring that the state’s 18 LGAs and 33 LCDAs operate effectively in order to promote development at the local level.”