According to reports, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has been told by President Bola Tinubu to hand over control to his deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
Politics Nigeria has learned that the transfer will be made possible by an electronic signature (e-signature) because of the governor’s compromised state.
The order was issued following Tinubu’s call for an important meeting on Monday to discuss the Ondo leadership crisis that resulted from Akeredolu’s protracted absence from office, which began in July 2023. This was the second meeting that the President had organized to discuss the mounting worries about the governor’s health and how it affects state government.
Growing pressure from political institutions and civil society organizations, who threatened widespread protests in Ondo State if Akeredolu didn’t resign, sparked the meeting.
After returning from a three-month medical leave in Germany in September, the governor has been almost absent.
According to information gathered by this publication, other notable attendees at the meeting included Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, Speaker of the House of Assembly Olamide Oladiji, Deputy Governor Aiyedatiwa, and Babajide, the son of Akeredolu, who oversees the Governor’s Office’s Performance and Project Implementation Monitoring Unit.
The State House of Assembly was to be consulted to use the theory of necessity, which would have resulted in the appointment of Aiyedatiwa as Acting Governor. But there were worries expressed about the possible embarrassment the sick governor would suffer from it.
“During the meeting, it was decided that the Speaker and Senator Jimoh Ibrahim pleaded that the sick governor would be humiliated, but the State House of Assembly should invoke the doctrine of necessity and make Lucky Ayedatiwa the Acting Governor,” a source revealed.
“Then, Babajide, the son, pledged to go get his father’s electronic signature so he could write a letter to the State House of Assembly giving the deputy governor authority.”