Crisis of confidence rocks Aiyedatiwa’s government: Five Akeredolu’s men quit, more to follow

Following the demise of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State on Wednesday, no fewer than five of his aides have tendered their resignation. More senior officials are ready to leave in the weeks ahead as the festering crisis of confidence rocking the State cabinet worsens.

Lucky Aiyedatiwa was sworn in on Wednesday as the new Governor of Ondo State hours after Akeredolu’s death was announced. However, his emergence has not gone down well with most members of the cabinet who had earlier frowned at his overbearing and over-ambitious tendencies while Akeredolu was hospitalised.

Less than 24 hours after Aiyedatiwa mounted the saddle, some of Akeredolu’s aides resigned, including Akeredolu’s Chief Press Secretary, Richard Olatunde, Special Adviser on Union Matters and Special Duties, Mr Dare Aragbaye, the Commissioner for Infrastructure, Lands and Housing, Mr Aminu Raimi, the Special Assistant on Photography, Mr Olawale  Abolade, and the Senior Special Assistant on Special Duties and Strategy, Dr Doyin Odebowale.

There are strong indications that more commissioners will leave in the next two weeks, including two long-standing, prominent and influential members of the cabinet.

Their immediate exit was a confirmation of the well-known fact that there was a crisis of confidence in the cabinet since Akeredolu’s illness, and that they could not work with Aiyedatiwa. One of them who spoke with The Podium Media anonymously said:

“There is no way we will be able to work peacably with a man whose overriding inordinate personal ambition and disloyalty was well-known to all including Arakunrin in his life time. The way Aiyedatiwa went about the whole thing was too crude, brash, and undiplomatic. His principal was on the sick bed and he was busy plotting and manipulating the system to take over power. I am sorry, he is not my type of leader, hence I left with my dignity. I can’t deal with disloyalty”.

One of the media aides who resigned told us that “there is no basis for comparison between Akeredolu, a fine gentleman, and the new governor. A man who was already witch-hunting and intimidating perceived Akeredolu’s loyalists in the cabinet cannot be trusted to handle the affaifrs of the state with maturity and finesse. He is too self-serving, inexperienced, and power hungry for my liking”.

In his letter of resignation, the infrastructure and housing commissioner said his resignation was dictated by his conscience. “I write to tender my resignation of appointment as Commissioner For Infrastructure, Lands and Housing with effect from today, 28 December 2023. This decision is anchored on my conscience, as my leader and dear boss, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, SAN, CON joined the Saint Triumphant”.

“I sincerely thank our dear Arakunrin and the good people of the state for the opportunity to serve in his cabinet as Senior Special Assistant on Lands and infrastructure, Special Adviser on Lands, Works and Infrastructure and Commissioner for Infrastructure, Lands and Housing,” Raimi said.

In his letter, the Senior Special Assistant on Special Duties and Strategy, Dr Odebowale, said: “I write to notify your office of my intention to resign my appointment as the Senior Special Assistant on Special Duties and Strategy to the Governor of Ondo State with immediate effect. I use this medium to thank the government and the people of Ondo State for the rare privilege offered for service.”

Political observers and analysts in Ondo State opined that the Aiyedatiwa government would have to contend with a crisis of legitimacy. Those who resigned were afraid of being rubbished by Aiyedatiwa. A senior citizen said: “Having failed in his desperate attempt to lobby them and win their support during Akeredolu’s absence, it is logical for them to feel unsafe in his cabinet. Don’t forget that this crisis has been there since Aketi left for treatment in Germany. Most of them simply don’t accept Aiyedatiwa’s leadership. At the end of the day, he may end up with a new cabinet”.

Mrs. Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, the State Commissioner for Information, had said during her interview on Arise News that the foundation of the crisis in the cabinet during Akeredolu’s absence was laid by the way and manner Aiyedatiwa went about jostling for power and influence, thereby negatively portraying the State.

The Punch reports that when the State Assembly tried to impeach Aiyedatiwa, he openly apologised to Akeredolu, pledging his loyalty. However, Akeredolu’s Senior Special Assistant on Special Duties and Strategy, Odebowale, in a statement, rebuffed Aiyedatiwa’s apology, insisting that then deputy governor must be impeached.

Meanwhile, a group, the Sunshine Advancement Ambassadors, on Thursday, warned the governor against embarking on a witch-hunt but to focus on governance. The group gave the advice in a condolence message signed by its chairman, Olaniyi Ogungbuji.