The Ondo State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, has insisted that nobody is forging the signature of the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu.
Ademola-Olateju stated this in an interview with Arise Television on Friday in reaction after the claims of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Kayode Ajulo that the governor was nowhere to be found and documents signed were bearing his forged signatures.
“Kayode Ajulo, SAN, is an indigene of Ondo State but a non-state actor. He cannot say categorically what is obtained in government because he doesn’t serve the people of Ondo State in any capacity within public service.
“I and other executive members, or whoever serves in the government of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, are the ones that are competent to say where and what is going on in Ondo State.
“Kayode is my friend, and I don’t want to attack him. He has some aggressive nature when it comes to things like this. In Ondo State, when things were going right, did you see Kayode Ajulo?
“You see Kayode in places where there are tiffs and he will stake his position and take a side and that is not good for someone of his legal stature. I think someone who wants to be fair and balanced needs to hear from both sides. He has not called anybody from the government to ask what is going on.
“The memo I sent to him was not the first one or the first time. He has been signing documents for me since I was appointed in 2021 December, so I know what his signature looks like.
“The signature is still the same. We are familiar with the governor’s signature, so let nobody come and bamboozle us that this is what is going on. I saw the governor last on September 8 and spoke to him last two weeks ago.
“I would like to reiterate here and now that Governor Rotimi Akeredolu is still performing his duties. What he is not doing is attending funerals, weddings, and having courtesy visits.
“I particularly sent two files to him two weeks ago. It came back and he approved them. So, I don’t know where all this is coming from.
“People are just using extra legal means, by political gladiators to force themselves to be in the reckoning for the 2024 elections and that is unfortunate. We cannot burn down the state because of the ambitions of someone or a group of people.
“The governor is still recuperating. The governor has gone through the furnace of a bad illness and right now, I can’t come here and lie that he can run. That is not true. He is still recuperating but his psychomotor skills, cognitive skills are all intact but he is not as strong as he was in the past.”
Speaking on the court order, asking a medical panel to provide clarity on Governor Akeredolu’s health, the commissioner said there was no need because the governor is not incapacitated.
She added that the whole issue is a ploy by people who want a short cut to the seat of the governor.
“The medical panel as I understand it as a layman, the doctor of the governor has to say he is incapacitated. But when it comes to our cabinet, we know that the governor is not incapacitated.
“Our governor is not senile and can still move his hands and legs but is not just as strong. He can’t do sports, he can’t jog, that is all we know.
“The extra-legal way these people are going about this is just a short cut to the governorship seat. That is what is going on in Ondo State.
“So much is going on in Ondo State but the political noise has drowned everything because it is just based on ambitions. Governance is not a circus nor a joke.”
On the current leadership crisis going on between Governor Akeredolu and his deputy, Ayedatiwa, she said, “You see, what is going on between Mr. Ayedatiwa, the deputy governor and the Governor, because it is so personal to the two of them, it is so difficult to say it outside but there is a supreme breakdown of trust between the two actors.
“That is why it is so difficult for this thing to be resolved. For now, the governor would have easily done the needful.
“Now that the peace was brokered, the governor and the executive council have kept their part of the bargain. But we still see sponsored stories all over the place. Nobody has prevented Mr. Ayedatiwa from discharging his duties as the deputy governor.
“He wants to act. For what? The governor is still alive and he is doing his job other than not appearing in the office or attending social events. That is what is missing,” she said.
