Special Adviser on Special Duty and Strategy to Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, Doyin Odebowale, has given reasons why the governor is working from Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, instead of staying and working in Akure.
Odebowale who made the disclosure while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday night, said the Governor decided to work from Ibadan due to accommodation challenges in Akure, noting that there is a pressing need for a more suitable residence for the governor given his current health condition.
Governor Akeredolu’s absence from the state since his return from a medical vacation abroad and his decision to work remotely from Ibadan, has sparked controversy within the state, with many insinuating that one of the reason could be his current face-off with his deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
But while addressing the absence of the Governor, Odebowale said:
“Aketi came back in September. Where he used to stay – the Presidential Lodge built for the visiting president at that time, Olusegun Obasanjo – is a two-bedroom apartment,” Odebowale explained.
“Now, he is back. He cannot occupy that place again. The Old Governor’s Office, the Governor’s Lodge built by the previous administration, is now the office of the investment outlet called the ODIPA. That’s the office.
“So, the governor has been managing a two-bedroom apartment for six years. But his current state of health would not permit him to pretend that all is well. He would need all the things for him to recover properly. That’s why the new place that is being arranged for him is almost completed.
He also had strong words for critics of the Governor and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.
“When they say they want to see Aketi, do they want to see him at the site so that he would be carrying cement or following workmen? What exactly? The civil servants have been paid all their salaries. Aketi has been signing laws since he came back.
“PDP cannot ask the governor to show his face, and if the so-called youths of the PDP believed that they reserve the right to move to the street to protest against a ruling party, APC and you want to know where the governor is, for what?
“So, you want the governor to come and address you at the PDP secretariat? Or do you want him to come and resuscitate your moribund party for what? The idea of asking security agencies to just allow you to move to the street, where is that done?
“If the PDP youth wing wants to move to the street, what about the APC youth wing if they are also allowed to move to the street, so, what will happen to the peaceful law-abiding citizens of the state, the residents, and those who will be passing through the state,” he said.
