Be fair to Akeredolu’s legacies, group charges Aiyedatiwa

A political group, the Ondo Mandate Renewal Forum (OMRF), has charged Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to always acknowledge the efforts and significant achievements of his predecessor and late boss, Rotimi Akeredolu, as he completes the tenure of the former governor.

The charge was contained in a statement signed by the group’s Coordinator, Sir David Adelegan, who urged Aiyedatiwa not to undermine Akeredolu’s legacy by failing to credit him for the projects and programs he initiated, which Aiyedatiwa is now commissioning and executing.

Adelegan expressed the group’s dissatisfaction over Governor Aiyedatiwa’s failure to recognize the efforts and impact of the late governor while inaugurating the Obas’ Council Secretariat, Fire Trucks, and Investment House on Thursday.

According to the group, it is public knowledge that the Obas’ Council Secretariat was initiated by the late Governor Olusegun Agagu, abandoned by former Governor Olusegun Mimiko, but later reactivated by Akeredolu’s administration. The project was substantially completed before Akeredolu’s demise.

The statement read: “It’s unfair for Governor Aiyedatiwa to have commissioned the Obas’ Council Secretariat without giving the deserved accolades to the late Governors—Olusegun Agagu, who initiated the project, and Akeredolu, who reactivated and substantially completed it before his death.

“It wouldn’t have taken anything away from the event if Governor Aiyedatiwa had commended his late boss’s efforts,” the group said.

Adelegan revealed that the fire trucks commissioned and handed over to the Fire Brigade officers by the governor were procured by the Akeredolu administration and received on his behalf by the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Engr. Ade Adetimehin, in July 2023.

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*”It was disappointing to see Governor Aiyedatiwa refer to those trucks as newly acquired when, in fact, they were procured and delivered to the state on July 21, 2023.

“Should we conclude that Governor Aiyedatiwa deliberately refused to distribute the trucks for almost two years, hoping that people would forget and count them as part of his achievements in office?

“More concerning is the fact that the governor refused to mention or acknowledge the late Akeredolu when handing over the trucks. It would have sufficed for him to provide background on how the trucks came into the state.

“Would it have hurt to say they were procured by his late boss, Rotimi Akeredolu? Is it a taboo to mention Akeredolu’s name and reference his contributions to projects he championed and completed?

“The reference to Akeredolu at the commissioning of the Investment House was demeaning. It is a sheer disservice to reduce Akeredolu’s efforts to merely proposing the concept of the Investment House when, in fact, he initiated and regularly supervised its construction. The project was already completed before his death.

“While we understand that government is a continuum, we must consciously separate the efforts and achievements of our political leaders. This helps track not only accountability but also progress in our state.

“Although we do not want to join the insinuation that Governor Aiyedatiwa still harbors deep-rooted resentment toward his late boss, we urge him to be conscious of these realities and give honor where it is due. Akeredolu’s legacy must be acknowledged.

“Governor Aiyedatiwa has also recorded some impactful projects of his own, which are now ready for commissioning, including the rehabilitation of the Government House fence, the painting of the median along Oba Adesida Road, and the surface dressing of Stadium Road.

“The governor should also expedite the replacement of concrete barricades with decorative iron barricades on Oba Adesida Road, as well as the reconstruction of Pa Fasoranti Park, adjacent to the Ministry of Finance in Akure. Well done, Your Excellency.”