The new Governor of Ondo State, Mr Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has denied plans to dissolve the leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress in the state.
The governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Ebenezer Adeniyan, told The PUNCH that his principal had no such plan.
“I don’t think so; I am not aware of such a plan, it’s not true,” Adeniyan said in reaction to a statement on Sunday by a group, the Ondo Elite Group, warning Aiyedatiwa against tampering with the existing APC political structure of the state.
The PUNCH reports that Aiyedatiwa moved from being Ondo State’s acting governor to becoming the substantive governor on December 27, 2023, following the death of his principal, former governor Rotimi Akeredolu.
Akeredolu died after a protracted battle with prostate cancer, which kept him away from the state for many months, with the opposition party pressuring him to relinquish power and focus on his health.
Amid the sickness, the relationship between Akeredolu and Aiyedatiwa broke down while the state House of Assembly plotted the deputy governor’s impeachment.
Aiyedatiwa survived the impeachment plot following the intervention of President Bola Tinubu.
Since he became substantive governor, there had been fear that he might go after Akeredolu’s loyalists, some of whom immediately resigned their appointments in the cabinet.
However, in his maiden address, Aiyedatiwa promised to continue from where his predecessor stopped, calling on all the stakeholders to join him in sustaining the legacy of the late former governor.
But in a statement on Saturday, the Ondo Elite Group called on Aiyedatiwa not to change the APC political structure in the state, warning that such a move would spell doom for the party in the governorship election coming up later this year.
The group’s General Secretary, Chief Yemi Oladiran, said tension was gradually brewing in the Ondo APC over an alleged plan to oust and replace the party leadership in the state to suit their candidate in the next election.
Oladiran said, “Dissolution of the state executive of the party will negate the agreement Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa signed with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the crisis that engulfed the state over the friction between the late Governor Rotimi Akeredolu and Aiyedatiwa.
“What we are guarding against is a repeat of what happened in Zamfara State; we cannot allow this to happen in Ondo State because we play the game by the rules and are guided by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“We must go into the next election as one united family.”
Oladiran said the group was proud of the leadership of the Ondo APC chairman, Ade Adetimehin, warning that “tampering with the present leadership in the state party or the exco would be counterproductive and spell doom for the party.”
“The understanding between the executive members of Ondo APC and the government is cordial and we should go into this election as one.
“We’re proud of the leadership of the state chairman, Ade Adetimehin. He has been able to stabilise the party since he became the chairman of the party. Nobody changes a winning team, the present leadership has two more years to complete its term. They should be allowed to usher in a new governor after the November election,” Oladiran said.
Meanwhile, the APC Stakeholders in the Ondo West Local Government Area of Ondo State advised Aiyedatiwa to be strategic and conscientious in choosing his deputy.
The group also urged him to pick a young and vibrant person from the Ondo West LGA as the deputy.
Speaking in Ondo town on the matter, the leader of the group, Adekunle Fela, said all the APC stakeholders in the local government had endorsed a chieftain of the party, Dr Thomas Akinwolere to be picked as the deputy governor, calling on Aiyedatiwa to consider their choice.
He said, “It has become important for us to issue this emergency press conference as a way of calling the attention of the newly sworn-in Governor of Ondo State, His Excellency Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, to matters that affect our dear state.
“Following the unfortunate loss of our great icon and leader, Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, it has become our collective responsibility to ensure that the good people of Ondo State continue to enjoy good governance without any hitches. It is to this effect that we congratulate the erstwhile Deputy Governor who has now been sworn in as Executive Governor, in person of Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa.
“However, we must also use this medium to communicate to the governor that he must be strategic and conscientious in the selection of who will emerge as his deputy governor.
Before now, we have made it known that whoever will be chosen to deputise the new governor, must be selected from Ondo town and must also be a youth who understands the dynamics of our great party and is also passionate about public service.
“Hence, all party faithful, stalwarts and stakeholders in Ondo West of Ondo Central Senatorial District, Ondo State have agreed on the choice of our son, Akinwolere Babajide Thomas, popularly known as Apata, to emerge as the next deputy governor of Ondo State for the remaining part of this administration.”
