He lamented the public criticism that has surrounded the governor’s absence in the state, saying Akeredolu is “surrounded by enemies from within”. According to the governor’s aide, this includes “his family”.
Doyin Odebowale, the Special Adviser on Special Duty and Strategy to Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has said his principal is working from Ibadan, the Oyo State capital and not Ondo State due to accommodation challenges.
Since his return to Nigeria from a three-month medical leave in Germany, Akeredolu has holed up in his residence in Ibadan, from where he has been given directives.
However, while featuring on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, Odebowale said the lodge where the governor used to stay in Akure was no longer good enough for him considering his state of health.
He lamented the public criticism that has surrounded the governor’s absence in the state, saying Akeredolu is “surrounded by enemies from within”.
According to the governor’s aide, this includes “his family”.
He said, “Aketi came back in September. Where he used to stay – the Presidential Lodge built for the visiting president at that time of (President) Olusegun Obasanjo – is a two-bedroom apartment.
“Now, he is back. He cannot occupy that place again. The Old Governor’s Office – the Governor’s Lodge built by the previous administration is now the office of the investment outlet called the ODIPA. That’s the office.
“So, the governor has been managing a two-bedroom apartment for six years. But his current state of health would not permit him to pretend that all is well. He would need all the things for him to recover properly. That’s why the new place that is being arranged for him is almost completed.”
According to him, Akeredolu’s absence from Ondo has not affected governance in any way.
“When they say they want to see Aketi, do they want to see him at the site so that he would be carrying cement or following workmen? What exactly?
“The civil servants have been paid all their salaries.