Skip to main content

Bedridden Ondo Governor, Akeredolu Absents Himself From President Tinubu’s Meeting With Governors

FILE
June 8, 2023

Checks by SaharaReporters, which had exclusively reported that the Ondo governor was bedridden in his residence in Ibadan, Oyo State, showed that Akeredolu absented himself from the NGF meeting and was therefore not on any of the photographs.
 

The Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, currently battling with an illness, was unable to President Bola Tinubu’s first meeting with Governors of the 36 States under the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday.

Checks by SaharaReporters, which had exclusively reported that the Ondo governor was bedridden in his residence in Ibadan, Oyo State, showed that Akeredolu absented himself from the NGF meeting and was therefore not on any of the photographs.
Tinubu had met with the governors around 12:36pm on Wednesday.

The discussions had centred around the fuel subsidy impasse and how the governors could cushion the effects of the hardship in their respective states.
Some of those present at the meeting include Governors of Zamfara, Kano, Taraba, Kogi, Ogun, Nasarawa, Bayelsa, Adamawa, Ebonyi, Lagos, Rivers, Osun, Jigawa, Benue, Taraba, Delta, Enugu, Rivers, Oyo, Plateau, Kebbi, Abia, Imo, Bauchi

The Deputy Governors of Edo and Niger represented their states.

Also at the meeting were Vice President Kashim Shettima; Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume.

SaharaReporters had last week reported that ailing Akeredolu was unable to sign official documents due to his deteriorating health condition.
It was also learnt that to prevent pictures of the governor’s emaciated looks from getting out, the family asked security agents and a few politicians around him to put off their mobile phones.
“His condition is very critical now, which is why he is being flown abroad. He is currently in Ibadan because that is where the family prefers to have him when his condition is critical because of the prying eyes and civil servants in Ondo,” a source had revealed.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that Akeredolu had been abandoned by his wife and children, which prompted their swift action to fly him abroad.
Meanwhile, the governor has refused to hand over to his deputy despite his incapacitation.
The Ondo State government had confirmed the report, by admitting that the state governor, had been indisposed but still alive and not dead, according to some unverified claims.
The Ondo State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, on Saturday in a statement said that though the governor had been indisposed, “he has been attending to state matters and delegating functions to functionaries of the government when necessary.” 
“We have been inundated with calls and messages concerning the state of health of the Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.
“We had chosen to ignore this wicked fabrication until it appeared that certain persons seek to draw political mileage from the disinformation.
“Though the Governor has been indisposed, he has been attending to state matters and delegating functions to functionaries of the Government, when necessary. We enjoin the members of the public to ignore the rumour. Aketi is very much alive.”