In August, Akeredolu wrote to the House of Assembly, notifying the lawmakers that he would be extending his medical leave abroad.
Over 10 days after Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu returned to Nigeria following a three-month medical leave in Germany, he is yet to set foot in his state.
The governor had embarked on a 21-day leave on June 7 and was expected to return on July 6.
In August, Akeredolu wrote to the House of Assembly, notifying the lawmakers that he would be extending his medical leave abroad.
However, on September 7, the governor returned to Nigeria from Germany where he spent three months.
He was welcomed by his close aides at his residence in Ibadan, Oyo State.
A day after his return, Akeredolu met with stakeholders from the state, including Olamide Oladiji, Speaker of the Assembly, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, Deputy Governor, and members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), at his residence in Ibadan.
He subsequently handed over his resumption letter to Oladiji and provided a copy to Aiyedatiwa.
SaharaReporters gathered that Akeredolu has however been governing the state from his Ibadan residence since his return to the country.
There has been no State Executive Council meeting since his return to Nigeria, a source told SaharaReporters.
“The affairs of the state and all decisions are being made in Ibadan; there was nothing like the state executive council meeting last week. We won’t be surprised if this week’s meeting will be held in Ibadan, the capital of another state,” a source in the government said.
When SaharaReporters contacted Olatunde Olabode Richard, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor to ask why his principal had been piloting the affairs of the state from another state and when he would likely return to Ondo, he promised to send an official response to our reporter.
He, however, failed to do so hours after he promised to do so. Subsequent efforts made by our reporter to reach him on the phone were not successful. He also did not reply to text messages sent to him.
SaharaReporters exclusively reported in January that Akeredolu was treating leukemia.
“The governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu has leukemia, he is really down,” one of the sources in the Alagbaka Government House revealed at that time.
Leukemia is a cancer of the blood caused by a rise in the number of white blood cells in the body.
For sufferers, the white blood cells crowd out the red blood cells and platelets needed by the body to stay healthy.
White blood cells are potent infection fighters which grow and divide in an orderly way, as the body needs them. But in people with leukemia, the bone marrow produces an excessive amount of abnormal white blood cells, which don't function properly.
It is a cancer of blood-forming tissues that hinders the body’s ability to fight infections.
The types that exist include acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia and chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Treatment for leukemia can be complex depending on the type of leukemia and other factors.
However, some strategies and resources can help make treatment successful.
According to WebMD Cancer Center, its symptoms may include weakness or fatigue, bruising or bleeding easily, fever or chills, infections that are severe or keep coming back, and pain in your bones or joints.
Others may include headaches, vomiting, seizures, weight loss, night sweats, shortness of breath, and swollen lymph nodes or organs like the spleen.