SAHARA REPORTERS
President Bola Tinubu held a meeting with Ondo State lawmakers, deputy governor and elders on Friday in the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja, over the current political crisis in the state, where he asked all the warring parties to “maintain the status quo.”
Insiders at the meeting told SaharaReporters that the president gave no clear solution to the current vacuum in governance experienced in Ondo State, as he “simply imposed ailing Rotimi Akeredolu” on the attendants of the meeting as the governor of the state.
Meanwhile, in a release by Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to Tinubu, the presidency noted that President Tinubu had resolved the political crisis in the state – a claim which is far from the truth.
The presidency, on Saturday morning said, “In his bid to restore political stability in Ondo State, President Bola Tinubu, late on Friday, waded into the months-long crisis between factions loyal to the Executive Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, and the Deputy Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
“This followed marathon negotiations between the President and the Deputy Governor, representatives of Governor Akeredolu, federal and state lawmakers of Ondo, officials of the state’s chapter of the All Progressives’ Congress, and other stakeholders in the state at the State House, Abuja.
“The President advised all opposing parties to bury the hatchet and embrace peace, eliciting commitments to this effect. This means that Governor Akeredolu remains Chief Executive of the State, Aiyedatiwa remains Deputy Governor, and members of the State Executive Council continue their respective duties, even as the leadership of the State’s House of Assembly and the APC Chapter in Ondo State is preserved.
“Mr. Aiyedatiwa, who declared his decision to maintain the status quo and unite all the factions, said: “I want to say that I pledge to all of you that I embrace every one of you. I put behind all that has happened before now. I’ve let go and also let God, just as the President has advised us.
“And I want to say that with no offence, no guile in my mind whatsoever. All that has happened is politics. Impeachment is part of politics. If you survive it, it is also politics. It has come. I’ve survived it, and every other thing is in the past.
“It is one big family and our father has intervened to bring all the children together to remain under the same family and with the position that I occupy, I will carry every one of you along in every decision that needs to be taken and in everything that we do, we will work together; the executive and the legislature will work together to ensure that governance is on the right track.”
“He pleaded with all members of the State Executive Council to rally around the Governor and himself to “bring the dividend of democracy” to the people of Ondo State.
“All the Executive Council members, I want to plead with all of you to cooperate with me, with the Governor, so that we can bring the dividend of democracy to our people. We should respect one another regarding the offices we occupy and our age differences. So, it’s going to be mutual respect.
“And I want to assure the party structure that we will work together because the party is supreme. We will always give you your due respect,” the Ondo State Deputy Governor pledged.
“The Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Oladiji Olamide, who read the details of the resolution, said, “Our resolution is that one, we shall embrace peace. Secondly, there would be no more dissolution of the cabinet, and the Deputy Governor would maintain the status quo as far as the House of Assembly leadership is concerned.
“We will maintain the status quo as far as the party leadership in the state is concerned and maintain the status quo as far as the leadership of the State House of Assembly is concerned. Thank you, Mr. President.”
THIS STORY FIRST APPEARED IN SAHARA REPORTERS
