The Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olaide Adelami, has refuted the malicious campaign, claiming he is a sworn enemy of the late state governor, Rotimi Akeredolu.
Adelami provided the clarifications in the context of a report allegedly sponsored by a faction within the Ondo State All Progressives Congress (APC) caucus in the House of Representatives.
According to Adelami, some of the aforesaid aggrieved representatives wrote a letter to President Bola Tinubu claiming that Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa had made several decisions indicating his animosity towards the late Akeredolu, while labelling Adelami as a sworn enemy of the late Akeredolu.
In a statement signed by his spokesperson, John Paul Akinduro, the deputy governor issued the reply, highlighting how he (Adelami) provided the late governor (Akeredolu) with financial, political, and spiritual support during the electioneering campaigns that resulted in his first and second terms in office.
Adelami further described the alleged petition that the aggrieved “honourables” had sent to Tinubu as a contrived and malicious statement that is not only entirely false but also malicious.
The statement reads, “The oft repeated fallacy that His Excellency, Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa hobnobs with Late Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu’s sworn enemies is becoming excessively irksome and prattle.
“Ordinarily, we would have ignored this utter hokum but it is imperative to set the record straight for the reading audience, especially seeing a recent publication by some section of the media, where what appears like a splinter group of the Ondo state All Progressives Congress (APC) caucus in the House of Representatives, purportedly wrote a letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, alleging that the new Deputy Governor of Ondo state, His Excellency, Chief Olayide Adelami, mni, was a sworn enemy of Late Governor Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, SAN, CON.
“For the avoidance of doubt, this concocted and malicious statement is not only untrue in its entirety but a mischief by these ‘honourables’.
“Chief Adelami was never an enemy of the late governor nor any other political player in Ondo state or elsewhere. The Deputy Governor is a decent politician and philantropist with verifiable track records.
“It is instructive to note that Chief Adelami has always been a strong member of the APC and staunch supporter and dependable ally of late Governor Akeredolu for eons.
“Worthy of mention is the fact that the deputy governor gave moral, political and financial support to the late governor during the electioneering campaigns, leading to his first and second terms in office and, subsequently rendered same support all through his tenure as governor of Ondo state.
“It is also remarkable that after losing the governorship primaries to late Arakunrin Akeredolu, SAN in 2020, Chief Adelami joined the campaign train and walked alongside with the late governor as he moved round the 18 Local Government Areas of Ondo state. Clearly, this cannot be the same Adelami and Akeredolu the misleading statement described as ‘they did not see eye to eye.’
“On record, was the donation of 5,000 copies of the APC constitution to the party, branding of Face caps and T-shirts with the inscription ‘Adelami Support Group for Aketi’, among many other items, which were received by the party chieftains, led by the State Chairman, Engr Ade Adetimehin, to support the re-election campaign of the late governor in 2020.
“Also, on ground to witness the handing over of these items were the late Governor, his then running mate, Rt. Hon. Victor Olabimtan, Ambassador Sola Iji, Hon. Ifedayo Abegunde (Abena), Chief Gbenga Ale and Hon. Timehin Adelegbe, whose signature also appeared in the published caucus letter.
“These facts are well established and available in the public domain as evident by one of the press releases authored by the Late Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Richard Olatunde, on September 16, 2020, titled ‘ONDO 2020: ADELAMI HANDS OVER CAMPAIGN OFFICE, STRUCTURE TO GOVERNOR AKEREDOLU’ with the rider, ‘No Vacancy in Alagbaka, Our Unity Unprecedented in the History of Political Parties – Gov Akeredolu’.
“However, as the governorship election draws nigh, it is not uncommon to experience this type of political tendency and pull-him-down syndrome by some detractors, who are threatened by the combination of Governor Aiyedatiwa and his Deputy, Chief Adelami, to pilot the affairs of the sunshine state.
“We urge the good people of Ondo state and fellow Nigerians to continue to support the APC-led, forward-thinking government of His Excellency, Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa. So that Ondo state will continue to flourish.”