As Ondo Governor Is No Longer Able To Speak, Akeredolu’s Son Begs Tinubu For An Air Ambulance To Take His Dying Father Back To Germany
The Ondo governor is having chemotherapy in Nigeria as part of his leukaemia treatment; SaharaReporters has learned that this has been causing him to lose consciousness for up to ten hours following each dose.
The son of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu has asked President Bola Tinubu for help in arranging for an air ambulance to take his sick father back to Germany, where he was receiving medical attention. SaharaReporters was informed on Tuesday by family sources that Akeredolu’s condition had gotten worse.
One of the sources stated, “He can no longer speak.”
This, according to insiders, is what made his son Babajide approach the President for assistance in getting his sick father quickly flown to Germany. Earlier on Tuesday, SaharaReporters revealed that Governor Akeredolu had received instructions from President Tinubu to hand over control to his deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, and Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, who represents Ondo South.
Babajide, the son of Akeredolu, who was appointed by his father, the governor, in November 2021 as the Director General of the Office of the Governor of Ondo State (PPIMU) for performance and project implementation monitoring, was also there.
SaharaReporters also stated that because the sick governor is too frail to sign any letters or documents, the transfer of power will take place via electronic signatures, or e-signature. At the meeting that Tinubu called on Monday to address the leadership situation in Ondo, he allegedly informed the attendees that Akeredolu was no longer able to sign letters and was therefore incapacitated.
The president called another emergency meeting on Monday to address the state’s leadership dilemma after the governor had not held office since July 2023. The meeting was called at Tinubu’s request in response to growing pressure from Take-It-Back, a civil society movement that had threatened to start large-scale demonstrations in Ondo State on Saturday, December 16, in order to call for Akeredolu’s resignation.
After coming back to Nigeria in September following a three-month medical break in Germany, the ill governor has vanished from sight.
SaharaReporters has learned from sources that while it was initially decided that the State House of Assembly would appoint Aiyedatiwa as acting governor under the doctrine of necessity, some attendees begged President Tinubu not to do so since they believed it would embarrass the sick governor.
“One of the sources had stated that, although it was decided during the meeting that the State House of Assembly should apply the doctrine of necessity and appoint Lucky Ayedatiwa as the Acting Governor, the Speaker and Senator Jimoh Ibrahim pleaded that the sick governor would be humiliated.”
“Then, Babajide, the son, pledged to go get his father’s electronic signature so he could write a letter to the State House of Assembly giving the deputy governor authority.”
Reliable sources from the meeting also said that a worry was voiced over the fact that power transfers through questionable methods would be absurd given the established case of fraud in managing state affairs.
SaharaReporters said on Sunday that the Take-It-Back Movement, a democracy advocacy group, planned to hold a town hall gathering in Akure on Saturday, December 16, with the goal of pressuring Governor Akeredolu to either quit or reclaim his position. According to the article, the occasion will also signal the start of public demonstrations demanding the resignation of the sick governor, who hasn’t visited his home state since July 2023.
On Sunday, Omoyele Sowore, the African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate for 2019 and 2023, made a similar request to Governor Akeredolu: either retire or return to office so that he can carry out his constitutional duties as the state’s governor.
In a message published on his X (formerly Twitter) account, Sowore announced that on December 16, there would be a town hall meeting and the start of protests in Akure, the state capital, and other locations throughout the state, demanding Akeredolu’s resignation.
He wrote: “On Saturday, December 16, 2023, there will be a town hall meeting and the start of street protests in Akure and throughout the state of Ondo!
“Everyone with a conscience is welcome! #RevolutionNow #GovAkeredoluMustResign.” The Take-It-Back Movement’s town hall meeting, titled “Akeredolu; Resume Or Resign,” is scheduled to take place at noon on Saturday, December 16, 2023, in Akure Town Hall, located on Oba Adeside Road in Akure. This information is based on a leaflet announcing the event.
After winning reelection as the state governor in October 2020, Akeredolu—a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and former NBA president—was sworn in for a second term in office in February 2021.
The governor’s second term, which began in January 2023, hasn’t been without its difficulties, though, as he had to travel overseas for medical attention.
In January, SaharaReporters exclusively revealed Akeredolu’s leukaemia diagnosis. An increase in white blood cell counts in the body is the cause of leukaemia, a type of blood cancer.
In the meantime, the family has been concealing his health condition in order to hold onto power over state matters.
After a three-month medical break in Germany, the 67-year-old lawmaker returned to Nigeria in September, but he has since taken up residence in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State.
Opposition parties have been putting a lot of pressure on Akeredolu to step down or give over leadership to his deputy in accordance with the 1999 constitution. However, his advisors have justified his decisions, arguing he could lead the state from any location. The ill governor’s signature on an official document was forged, according to a forensic assessment by the Association of Forensic Professionals of Nigeria (AFPON), which SaharaReporters exclusively revealed on Friday.
There are hints that more of these frauds might exist in the interim.
ere are strong indications the author of known specimen handwritings/signatures on known documents marked ‘K-K4’ did not write the questioned signatures on questioned documents marked ‘Q-Q2,'” according to the forensic report signed by Mr. Nuhu Kutana Tanko and received by SaharaReporters on Friday.
Razaq Obe, the State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, started the investigation after he confirmed in a letter to Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the Deputy Governor, that Akeredolu’s signature on a ministry-related document was forged.
Department of State Services (DSS) opened an investigation into the forgery of sick Akeredolu’s signature on official documents, as SaharaReporters had earlier on Monday revealed.
SaharaReporters was informed by sources that Mr. Obe was interrogated for around two hours on Monday after arriving at the DSS office in Alagbaka, Akure, at approximately 3:00 pm.
According to sources, the DSS classified him as a “person of interest” in the inquiry.