Aiyedatiwa denies plan to dissolve Ondo APC leadership

Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the newly appointed governor of Ondo State, has refuted any intentions to dissolve the All Progressives Congress, the state’s ruling party.

Ebenezer Adeniyan, the chief press secretary for the governor, stated that his principal did not have such a strategy.

“I don’t think so; I am not aware of such a plan, it’s not true,” Adeniyan said to a group called the Ondo Elite Group’s statement from Sunday, which cautioned Aiyedatiwa from interfering with the state’s current APC political system.

According to reports, on December 27, 2023, Aiyedatiwa took over as the official governor of Ondo State after his mentor, previous governor Rotimi Akeredolu, passed away.

Following months of being absent from the state due to a protracted fight with prostate cancer, Akeredolu passed away. The opposition party had been pressing him to give up his post and prioritize his health.

The state House of Assembly was hatching plans to remove the deputy governor from office during the illness, which also caused the relationship between Akeredolu and Aiyedatiwa to fall apart.

Aiyedatiwa escaped the conspiracy to remove her from office thanks to President Bola Tinubu’s intervention.

Fearing that he may pursue Akeredolu’s loyalists, some of whom promptly resigned their cabinet seats, has existed since he was appointed substantive governor.

But in his inaugural speech, Aiyedatiwa called on all the relevant parties to help him in upholding the late former governor’s legacy, promising to pick on where his predecessor left off.

However, the Ondo Elite Group urged Aiyedatiwa not to alter the APC’s political structure in the state in a statement released on Saturday, stating that doing so would be disastrous for the party in the upcoming gubernatorial race later this year.

Chief Yemi Oladiran, the group’s general secretary, said that tension was progressively building within the Ondo APC due to a purported plot to remove and replace the state party leadership in order to support their candidate in the upcoming election.

Oladiran declared, “The agreement that Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa made with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the crisis that enveloped the state over the tension between the late Governor Rotimi Akeredolu and Aiyedatiwa will be negated by the party’s dissolution of its state executive.

We are preventing a recurrence of the events that transpired in Zamfara State; we cannot permit this to occur in Ondo State as we adhere to the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s constitution and play by the rules.

“We have to enter the next election as a single, cohesive family.”

Oladiran cautioned that “tampering with the present leadership in the state party or the exco would be counterproductive and spell doom for the party,” adding that the organization was proud of Ade Adetimehin, the chairman of the Ondo APC.

“The administration and the executive members of the Ondo APC have a friendly agreement, and we ought to approach this election as a united front.

“We are pleased with Ade Adetimehin, the state chairman, for his leadership. Since taking over as the party’s chairman, he has been successful in keeping things stable. A winning team never changes, and the current leadership has two more years left on its contract. After the election in November, they ought to be permitted to install a new governor, according to Oladiran.

Aiyedatiwa was instructed by APC stakeholders in Ondo West Local Government Area, Ondo State, to select his deputy carefully and strategically.

Additionally, the group encouraged him to appoint a youthful, energetic member of the Ondo West LGA as the deputy.

Speaking on the subject in Ondo Town, the group’s chairman, Adekunle Fela, stated that Dr. Thomas Akinwolere, a party leader, had received the endorsement of all APC stakeholders in the local government for the position of deputy governor. He urged Aiyedatiwa to take their recommendation into consideration.

“It has become important for us to hold this emergency press conference to bring issues that affect our dear state to the attention of His Excellency Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, the newly sworn-in Governor of Ondo State,” he stated.

“It is now our joint duty to make sure that the good people of Ondo State continue to experience smooth government in the wake of the tragic passing of our great icon and leader, Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu. To this end, we would like to express our congratulations to Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, the former deputy governor who was recently inaugurated in as the executive governor.

But we also need to use this platform to let the governor know that choosing his deputy governor would require careful consideration and strategy.

We have already stated that the person picked to serve as the new governor’s deputy must be a young person who is enthusiastic about public service, understands the workings of our fantastic party, and is a resident of Ondo Town.

“Therefore, our son, Akinwolere Babajide Thomas, popularly known as Apata, has been selected by all party faithful, stalwarts, and stakeholders in Ondo West of Ondo Central Senatorial District, Ondo State, to emerge as the next deputy governor of Ondo State for the remainder of this administration.”