It is no longer news that Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has been unavoidably unavailable to attend to governance in the Sunshine State for some months now, due to his undisclosed nature of sickness. Irrespective of the make-believe impression being given by the handlers of Aketi; the long absence of the governor from Ondo State has taken a serious toll on good governance in the Sunshine State.
It is also a known fact that Governor Akeredolu since his return to Nigeria from the three-month medical leave in Germany, had chosen to stay put in Ibadan for reasons best known to him. While the governor thought it necessary to send a letter of assumption of duty to the State House of Assembly upon his return to Nigeria; he has however not also deemed it right to step foot on the soil of Ondo State or to even address people of the Sunshine State since he returned from Germany.
In all fairness, Akeredolu is not a superhuman that is above sickness. The governor is obviously a human and he can fall sick anytime due to his mortal nature. However, it becomes unacceptable, for a sick governor who cannot readily and physically discharge his constitutional duties to still desperately hang -on to power and not allow the deputy governor to take charge of governance. As things stand now in Ondo State, no one is in charge of governance in the Sunshine State and this is not acceptable.
The direction of governance in Ondo State is no longer predictable as confusion, suspicion, and bickering now reign supreme in the Sunshine State. We have seen situations whereby the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Akeredolu on Strategy and Special Duties, Dr. Doyin Odebowale usurped the duties of the Chief Press Secretary as well as that of the Commissioner for Information. The same man has also thrown caution to the wind with the insults he recklessly hurled at the deputy governor and the good people of Ondo South senatorial district.
More so, the governor’s wife, Arabinrin Betty Akeredolu has since abandoned her role as a First Lady to become a power broker in Ondo State. She is now focused on imposing her preferred governorship aspirant as her husband’s successor in 2024. The first lady has also become enmeshed in the bye-election of Akoko North East /North West Federal Constituency. In the same manner, the First Son of the state, Babajide Akeredolu has also joined forces with her mother as a co-power broker in Ondo State. He is also focused on who will succeed his father as governor in the year 2024.
Sadly, an all-time low chapter of poor governance has since been opened in Ondo State due to the sickness of Governor Akeredolu. On Tuesday, October 31, 2023, The meeting of the National Police Council convened at the instance of President Bola Tinubu in Abuja had all the state governors or their deputies in attendance; with the exception of Ondo State that conspicuously had no representative at the meeting. More so, Ondo State has not been represented at the regular National Economic Council meetings in Abuja since Akeredolu became sick. Ditto for the regular State Executive Council meeting that has not been held since Governor Akeredolu took ill.
It is not unexpected therefore that Ondo State had become relegated to the position of a third-class state in Nigeria, due to greed and selfishness of the handlers of Governor Akeredolu. It is also not surprising that Akure no longer looks like a state capital since the governor became sick. The entire street and roads of the state capital are always enveloped by darkness every night, while some street light poles already vandalized or destroyed by motorists have remained unrepaired by the state government. The regular excuse for the perpetual darkness in the state capital and across the state has always been that there was no fund to procure diesel, yet there are always enough funds to loot by the political class.
A drive across Ondo State will confirm that most roads in the state have become impassable. Garbages have practically taken over the major streets of Ondo State capital city, while the state health sector has almost become non-functional. One can hardly find any consultant in any of the state-owned hospitals again; while the necessary machines are either non-functional or never procured. Doctors and nurses are leaving Ondo State employment in their dozens on a weekly basis. The educational sector of Ondo State is also in a pathetic state, just like the agricultural sector.
In all honesty, governance has become grounded in Ondo State as practically nothing is working in the state for now. In the face of all these, what is expected of Governor Akeredolu is to yield power to the deputy governor, so as to fully attend to his health. Instead of doing the needful, the handlers of the governor have rather chosen to wage impeachment war on the Deputy Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa. This unnecessary political bickering has sadly left Ondo State in the back seat position never witnessed in her history of existence.
Only on Thursday, the Ekiti State government announced that it has successfully test-run her 3.5megawatts gas-fired Independent Power Project for two weeks. The state said the project was executed to address the shortage of electricity supply to Ekiti State.
One cannot stop wondering why Ekiti State which is far less endowed is doing a whole lot better in all facets of governance than Ondo State. It is a fact though that Ondo State generates more IGR, receives 13% oil derivation funds, and also receives more statutory allocation compared to Ekiti State. Despite all these multiple income sources of Ondo State, the state is made to appear like an orphan state compared to Ekiti State.
What Ondo State could not do in her 47 states of existence has been achieved by the neighboring Ekiti State. The IPP project of the Fountain of Knowledge State is now guaranteeing uninterrupted power supply to Ekiti State Governor’s Office, Government House, State Secretariat Complex, House of Assembly Complex, Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, (EKSUTH) and streetlights along major roads in the metropolis among others. Basically, Ekiti which was carved out of the old Ondo State has now become a pacesetter and trailblazer for her mother state.
We can no longer pretend that all is well with Ondo State. The present status quo of non-direction in governance should not be encouraged. Right now, governance in the Sunshine State is sick, just as the governor himself is equally sick. The issue of leadership in the state is not about the person of the Deputy Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, but about doing what is right, fair, and just. This can only be to allow for the return of good, functional, and active governance to Ondo State as enshrined in the nation’s 1999 constitution.