The Ondo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, on Sunday, described as long overdue the decision of ailing Governor Rotimi Akeredolu to hand over power to his deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, to function as acting governor.
According to the PDP, Ondo State has stagnated in the last six months due to the ill health of the governor, who last week returned to Germany for a follow-up medical treatment.
The state House of Assembly on Thursday recognised Aiyedatiwa as acting governor, after acknowledging a letter by Akeredolu handing over power to the deputy.
Speaking on the development on Sunday, the Publicity Secretary of the Ondo PDP, Kennedy Peretei, told The PUNCH that Aiyedatiwa should swing into action and move the state forward.
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.
However, the information commissioner, in a statement on Sunday, said the acting governor had not given any order to freeze the council’s account, describing the report as untrue.
Ademola-Olateju said, “At no time has the acting Governor or any functionary of the state put a freeze on local government accounts or order any closure. This information is fake and baseless. We ask that the good people of Ondo State, particularly officials of local governments, disregard the rumour.
“Necessary complimentary personnel/civil servants have been deployed to the LCDAs and they have been advised to exercise due diligence and processes in their operations by the government.
“The state government is committed to proper functioning of the new 33 LCDAs and the existing 18 LGAs in the state as a way of enhancing development at the grassroots.”
