Babajide Akeredolu, son of the Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, has disclosed why he is supporting the candidature of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, saying, he is the right man for the job.
He added that he believes in Tinubu’s capacity because he always puts the right people in the right places.
Akeredolu, who made the disclosure in Lagos, while speaking with newsmen, also spoke on his much controversial appointment as the Special Adviser and Director-General, Performance and Project Implementation Unit, Office of the Governor of Ondo State.
He said he got into government for the best interest of the state, adding that his office was designed because of the need to have someone closer to reach the Governor on policies, someone that can meet him in the room and say these are the issues. “My office has brought efficiency into governance.”
He, however, denied that the contractors handling projects in the state were owned by the first family, stating that the government understudied three different states including Kaduna and Ekiti while designing his office.
“What made us unique was we got the African Development Bank (ADB) to key into what we are doing, they liked the idea and linked us with the presidency of Senegal.
“To be honest project monitoring is really expensive and can run into billions and we don’t have the resources so we are focusing on performances with the right people.”
On the rumour that his father is planning to hand over power to him, Akeredolu said: “I don’t have any plan to run for office. It is interesting people speculate this, but I have multiple pathways to success. I don’t need to stay in government to be successful.
“Power is never something that gingers the Akeredolu family. I do not want to be the Governor, it’s stressful and no matter what you do, people must still criticise, so I commend people that are built for that, but I am just looking for opportunities to make young people thrive.
“There are multiple pathways to success for me. I am lucky I have a strong surname with a lot of options before me. So, I really don’t bother about what’s coming next, but I just focus on the present and how I can help the younger generations.”
On allegations that the largest chunk of the state’s projects are being executed by the first family, he said, “If you try to justify some things, a lot of people will still have their own perception.
“They say I am in charge of revenue, let us say it is true. Ondo State went from N600m to about N2.2bn a month. If my interest was to ‘eat’ the money, why would I make it transparent? If I am getting all the contracts, why will I venture into governance where there is a code of conduct?”