Regardless of whether
he gets the governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress, APC, or not,
Ondo indigenes at home and abroad
seem to have their minds firmly made up on
not allowing Governor Rotimi Akeredolu back in the Ondo Government House.
Accused variously of
being too distant and detached in his governance approach, the indigenes are
especially piqued that the governor seems to have ceded the powers of his
office to his wife, Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu. A native of Imo State, the
strong-willed First Lady has reportedly immersed and entrenched herself in her
husband’s government that her word is the law and carries as much or even more
weight than the governor’s; while many contractors prefer to go through her for
mega contracts. She is described as brusque and condescending; looking and
talking down on government officials while channelling the state’s resources to
fulfilling her vanities.
What has worsened the
case of the governor is his recent appointment of Miss Ngozi Ugochi-Igbo, also
an Imo State native, as his Special Assistant on Gender, Research and
Documentation. The 26-year-old lady who recently completed her one year
mandatory National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, was described as the First Lady’s
makeup artist. Party chieftains and faithful are riled and raging, describing
the move as a deliberate slap on their faces because while they were yet to be
compensated for their unquantifiable role towards ensuring Akeredolu’s
electoral victory, he had yet to fully compensate them.
Yet, it was not the
first time this would happen. A similar scenario played out last November when
the governor approved the appointment of his wife’s relative, Miss Peace Joy
Odili as the Special Assistant (Public Procurement). The appointment was
controversially backdated to November 2018 to allow her to get allowances and
salaries she did not work for. Ondo people have been biding their time, waiting
for the best time to strike. And the time is nigh.
The Ondo State
gubernatorial election holds in October 2020 while the APC primary election has
been slated for July 20, 2020. Governor Akeredolu desperately desires a second
term ticket and he has two major hurdles to cross – his party and the Ondo
people. The people, who see him as being too elitist and had reduced governance
to a family affair, are already shopping for a more indigenous alternative
among the crop of aspirants in the leading parties.
While the APC in Ondo
State has been factionalised due to the overbearing and divisive nature of the
governor, he has been on a warpath with his deputy, Hon. Agboola Ajayi, for the
best part of the last year, during which there were rumours that the latter had
even defected to the People’s Democratic Party, PDP.
Now, he is acutely aware
of recent happenings in his party where incumbent governors do not get
automatic return tickets as was the practice in the past. Former Governor
Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos was the first major casualty of this new practice
while the Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki has been told in plain terms that
he is also not entitled to one.
Akeredolu has declared
that he is not scared what system is adopted – whether direct or indirect – for
the primary election, saying that he is popular and has performed well hence he
would win any mode of primary election conducted by the party.
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