Akeredolu insists he is alive with video proof
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Ondo Governor Rotimi Akeredolu has fought back against rumour of his death which swirled last week that he had kicked the bucket in a German hospital, which would have been a blow to Southern agitation for fiscal federalism.
Betty his wife released a video on Sunday in which Akeredolu, 65, is seen singing and dancing in a room as proof he is hail and hearty.
Richard Olatunde his Chief Press Secretary issued a statement to reiterate that his principal on 23 March sent a letter to the state House of Assembly that he would be away for 14 working days as the first part of his 2022 annual leave.
Olatunde said Akeredolu transferred power to his Deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
However, media reports claimed last week that he had died in a hospital in Germany.
Betty, 68, countered the rumour on 17 April by posting a video on her Facebook page in which she confirmed that her husband is currently on vacation.
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Singing, dancing to Gospel songs on tape
The video, which lasts 19 seconds, shows Akeredolu in a room with a man likely to be one of his aides, singing Gospel songs and dancing, according to reporting by The PUNCH.
The date the video was recorded was not stated
Betty wrote: “Baba Aketi niyen! Dey enjoy your vacation jare. A begi wetin I dey hear, gist kini? Shitloveragain? Na you go waka go hell fire! (That is Baba Aketi, continue enjoying your vacation. What am I hearing? ‘Shitlover’ again? It is you that will go to hell fire.)
It was her reaction to a post on Instagram which claimed that Akeredodu is diagnosed with prostate cancer and on life support in a hospital in Germany.
Akeredolu, the man who stands up to Tinubu
Akeredolu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), was a successful legal practitioner in Lagos before he became Ondo Governor on 24 February 2017. He was re-elected for a second term of four years in 2020, which began in 2021.
He is the Chairman of the South West Governors’ Forum on which platform he stridently advocated that his All Progressives Congress (APC) should zone the Presidency back to the South in 2023, the North having had its turn.
Other Southern Governors also demanded power rotation the region.
APC acceded to the clamour on 23 February. It was announced by Kaduna Governor Nasir el-Rufai a few minutes after President Muhammadu Buhari held a meeting with APC Governors at the Villa in Abuja.
Akeredolu is also a strong campaigner for fiscal federalism so states would generate and keep much of their revenue and give less to Abuja for federal administration.
He also stands up to Bola Tinubu, former Lagos Governor, who desires to extend his influence across the South West from his base in Lagos where he dominates politics.
He does not kowtow to Tinubu. He shunned the influence of Tinubu in his governorship quest in 2016 and went on to win the ballot in November that year.
Akeredolu the nepotist
Akeredolu is, however, guilty of nepotism, one of the things for which critics knock Tinubu, who plants his children in strategic positions in Lagos and bankrolls Remi his wife as Senator representing Lagos Central.
He on 13 December 2021 appointed Babajide his son as his Adviser and Director General of Performance and Project Implementation Monitoring Unit.
This kind of brazen nepotism is rare thing for a politician to do in Nigeria, particularly in the South. Not even Buhari has done it.
Buhari is guilty of nepotism by ignoring the federal character principle and appointing fellow Northerners to head almost all military and paramilitary units as well as ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs).
But Buhari has not picked his own son or daughter to serve with him.