The Special Adviser on Special Duty and Strategy to Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, Doyin Odebowale said the Governor is not working from the Ibadan due to housing issues because of his current health condition.
This was revealed by Odebowale yesterday during an appearance on Politics Today on Channels Television. He stated that, considering Akeredolu’s present state of health, it is imperative that he find a more acceptable place to live.
“Aketi came back in September. Where he used to stay – the Presidential Lodge built for the visiting president at that time Olusegun Obasanjo – is a two-bedroom apartment,” he said on the show.
“Now, he is back. He cannot occupy that place again. The Old Governor’s Office – the Governor’s Lodge built by the previous administration is now the office of the investment outlet called the ODIPA. That’s the office,” the governor’s aide added.
“So, the governor has been managing a two-bedroom apartment for six years. But his current state of health would not permit him to pretend that all is well. He would need all the things for him to recover properly. That’s why the new place that is being arranged for him is almost completed.”
Ever since his return from a medical vacation in Europe, Governor Akeredolu has not been in state.
There is debate in Oyo State about his plan to operate remotely from Ibadan.
Addressing critics, Odebowale said, “When they say they want to see Aketi, do they want to see him at the site so that he would be carrying cement or following workmen? What exactly? The civil servants have been paid all their salaries. Aketi has been signing laws since he came back,” he maintained.
“PDP cannot ask the governor to show his face, and if the so-called youths of the PDP believed that they reserve the right to move to the street to protest against a ruling party, APC and you want to know where the governor is, for what?
“So, you want the governor to come and address you at the PDP secretariat? Or do you want him to come and resuscitate your moribund party for what? The idea of asking, security agencies to just allow you to move to the street where is that done?
“If the PDP youth wing wants to move to the street, what about the APC youth wing if they are also allowed to move to the street, so, what will happen? The peaceful law-abiding citizens of the state, the residents, and those who will be passing through the state,” he said.
The media assistant went on to say that there is nothing wrong with law-abiding persons requesting to see the governor, refuting the mischievous portrayal that all is hopeless and ineffective.
“The current state of health of the governor would not permit him to pretend that all is well, he will need all the things that will make him recover well. That is why the place that is built for him is almost complete. He has been staying in a two-bedroom apartment for six years.”
