- Says Deputy In Government But Has Left Governance
By Kolawole Ojebisi
Ondo State Governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, has said he would not hand over to his deputy, Mr. Agboola Ajayi, despite his current health status.
Akeredolu had disclosed his positive Covid-19 results on Tuesday and he is currently in self-isolation where he is receiving treatment. The Governor spoke through his Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Donald Ojogo.
Akeredolu and Ajayi have been having a running battle. At the height of the battle, at least in the meantime, the Deputy Governor resigned his membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
After Ajayi’s resignation the governor fired all the aides attached to his office and his police escort was withdrawn until Mohammed Adamu, Inspector-General of police, intervened.
Against this background, unlike some of his counterparts who handed over power to their deputies after contracting the virus, Akeredolu did not ask Ajayi to step in pending the time he recovers.
At a briefing in Akure, Ondo state capital, on Friday, Ojogo said Akeredolu would not be blackmailed to handover to Ajayi.
He described Agboola as the greatest threat to good governance in the state.
“Handing over the governance of the state to Agboola is a none issue and we are not even considering that,” he said.
“I know as a matter of fact nobody would want to do that and if we advice the governor it should be on what basis?
“He (deputy governor) has created an unusual scenario upon which he wanted to climb into the next step in his political ambition and we have seen this as a misadventure.
“We cannot toil with what we have built over the years. We cannot risk and attempt to hand over to someone who has exhibited the widest scenario of betrayal.
“So, it is unthinkable and unquestionable. If that is the reasons why the deputy governor is sponsoring some write-ups that the governor must hand over to him. He is only joking and it is not going to happen.”
Ojogo noted that Ajayi, though in government, is out of the loop in the affairs of running the state.
He said, “The governor cannot hand over to the deputy, Agboola Ajayi. The deputy has left governance, though he is still in government. So, you cannot hand over to such a person.”
Despite the Governor contracting the contagion, he added that he is fit to discharge his responsibilities as the number one citizen of the state.
“Mr. Governor is saying COVID-19 is not a death sentence and he is strong enough to work.”
The Commissioner, however, denied that all government activities in the state have been grounded as a result of the governor’s COVID-19 status.
He said, “Though Mr Governor is on self-isolation, the government is not grounded. He is working from isolation, so the state cannot be grounded.”
Expressing displeasure over the increasing cases of the virus in the state, Ojogo said the government would not be deterred in its fight against the scourge, noting that the government had invested a lot in the fight despite scarce resources.
