Why Governor Akeredolu turned Ondo State a family affair by appointing son as director general
OpenLife Nigeria reports that overtime, stakeholders have complained about the manner Rotimi Akeredolu has managed the affairs of Ondo State as a governor.
Specifically, lots of individuals have pick holes in his appointments, which to them, fall short of fairness and equity.
The complaint heightened when some said that the Governor has turned governance to a family affair after he appointed his son, Babajide Akeredolu, as Director General of the Performance and Project Implementation Monitoring Unit, PPIMU.
Offering clarifications on the complaints in an interview earlier published in the Punch newspapers, the governor’s wife and First Lady of the State, Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, said betrayal partly necessitated the decision of her husband to resort to family lining to make critical appointments.
She maintained that her husband could trust to a fault but over the years many have betrayed him.
She cited the case of the former deputy governor, Agboola Ajayi, whom she said back stabbed her husband.
“You know in politics you need someone you can trust; someone that when you are moving in front, he won’t stab you in the back. I am sure you heard about the issues with him and his former deputy; a deputy that the governor trusted like a son. You tell Mr Governor, do this, he would say go to the deputy governor, yet the deputy governor betrayed him. Once beaten is twice shy,”
Continuing, Betty, an Emeabiam in the Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State who is currently contesting Imo east senatorial district seat on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, added that her husband’s choice for the son is in compliance with the persuasion to bequeath power to the youths.
“I don’t you if you heard about youth o’clock? There has been that clamour for youths to come on board. And the governor has a son who has demonstrated in a very profound way his competence; do you now leave him just to satisfy what?” She asked rhetorically.
Akeredolu, SAN, who became president of the Nigerian Bar Association in 2008 assumed office as Ondo State governor on February 24, 2017 with an adopted prefix is “Arakunrin”, and “Aketi” as nickname.
The 65 years old Owo nationality and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, married Betty in1981.
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