Rotimi Akeredolu, Governor of Ondo State, has been suspended from the All Progressives Congress (APC) by the national leadership of the party, multiple sources within the party have confirmed to SaharaReporters.
SaharaReporters learnt from several sources that Akeredolu was suspended by a party committee set up to look into his case.
On March 1, our source how the NWC of APC queried Akeredolu over his “glaring anti-party activities, which greatly affected the fortunes of our candidates in the recently-conducted presidential and national assembly elections in the state”.
On Friday, a high-ranking member of the APC in Ondo State confirmed the suspension to SaharaReporters, although he asked not to be named since the party was yet to make a formal announcement.
“It is true; the Governor has been suspended from the APC due to anti-party activities after he was issued a query by the national leadership of the party over anti-party activities,” he said. “Although the APC at the national level has not made an official announcement, we are 100 percent aware that he has been suspended.”
A second APC source in Akure, capital of Ondo State, who also requested not to be named, confirmed the suspension, telling SaharaReporters: “I can confirm to you that Akeredolu has been suspended from the party over anti-party activities and many of his commissioners in the state are aware of this already.
“Well, maybe they don’t want to tell you the truth or they are all afraid of losing their positions, but it is true; he has been suspended from APC.”
Also speaking, a leader of the party, who asked for anonymity, said: “I am aware that Governor Akeredolu was queried over anti-party activities, so it might be very possible that he has been suspended as almost everyone in the party is already aware of this.”
When contacted by SaharaReporters, a fourth source, who currently works in the government of Akeredolu, said he would not like to talk on the suspension.
“Well, I don’t and would not want to talk about it because I feel that this Comrade Adams Oshiomhole who is National Chairman of our party is the problem we have.
“How will you suspend a Governor in the party and you refuse to listen to explanation from us? Oshiomhole is just too rigid and cannot manage the party well.
“He has shown that the best way to govern the party (APC) is to push out those who are against him and his decisions, but he will soon fail as people are already tired of him. So, the suspension I think was like a week ago but already we’re doing everything at our end to resolve it and we shall get over issues which led to this very soon.”
When SaharaReporters contacted Mallan Lanre Issa-Onilu, National Publicity Secretary of the party, he neither confirmed nor denied it.
“I am not aware of that and several people have called me to confirm this,” he said, “but I cannot talk on it since I am not aware of it.”
