Let Akeredolu Attend to His Health

Having transmitted letter to his deputy to take charge in his absence as required by law, Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, should be allowed to attend to his health issues in peace without incendiary comments on his condition, which many consider as insensitive and inhuman, Ejiofor Alike writes

The recent comment by the National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu, that the ailing Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, was in a state of extreme incapacity has continued to elicit reactions across the country.

Speaking at an event that was unconnected to Akeredolu or the APC governors, Adamu declared that Akeredolu was incapacitated and currently hospitalised abroad, as if it is not common knowledge that the governor is attending to his health challenges outside the country.

“In the same vein, we regret to announce the extreme incapacity of the governor of Ondo State, who we understand has been hospitalised overseas,” Adamu reportedly told the state chairmen of APC in Abuja.

“We wish and pray for him for a speedy recovery,” he added.

While many considered the claim as ill-conceived and unnecessary, others, especially the loyalists of the governor described it as cruel and inhuman.

Many were alarmed that Adamu could make such a claim when he is neither Akeredolu’s doctor nor his family member. This was even against the fact that at no time did he visit the governor to assess his state of health.

It was all over the news last month when Governor Akeredolu commenced a 21-day medical leave abroad on June 7 and transmitted power to his deputy, Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa.

In the letter to the House of Assembly, Akeredolu said Aiyedatiwa would function in acting capacity pending the time his leave would be over.

The Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Olamide Oladiji, who received the copy of the letter, had announced that Akeredolu would resume work on July 6, 2023.

“The governor, who had directed his deputy, Hon. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, to act as the Governor while away, has assured of his resumption on the 6th of July, 2023.”

It should be noted that when the governor could not resume on July 6 as planned, he wrote again to the state House of Assembly requesting for an extension of his medical leave.

The Speaker of the Assembly, Oladiji, confirmed the receipt of the letter in Akure, the state capital.

Akeredolu said in the letter that the request was sequel to doctors’ advice on the need for him to take adequate rest after recuperating.

Receiving the letter on behalf of other lawmakers, the Speaker said the governor’s action was in line with Section 190 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

Oladiji, who expressed appreciation to God for the speedy recovery of the governor, expressed optimism that he would soon resume his duties.

Akeredolu, in the letter, said his Deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, would “continue to act as governor until there is a written declaration to the contrary.”

It was therefore shocking that Adamu could make such a public declaration when he is not an agent of the state government or his doctor.

Before he transmitted the letter for his deputy to take charge, there were uproars in the state on his alleged whereabouts with the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) asking him to resign if he could no longer perform his functions.

Akeredolu had proceeded on a two-week working vacation as part of his annual leave on April 3. He had promised to resume work on April 26, but he did not resume as promised.

Following his absence, the spokesman of the state chapter of the PDP, Kennedy Peretei, had stated that it was a great disservice to keep mum over the governor’s health status and his whereabouts.

Citing the case of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua who was incapacitated due to ill health in 2010, the opposition party recalled that Akeredolu was one of the most vociferous voices, calling for his resignation to allow the then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to take over.

But while responding to the news about the governor’s whereabouts, the state government had urged the people of the state to ignore any rumour, insisting that he was very much in good condition.

The state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, who acknowledged that the governor had been indisposed, added that he had been attending to state matters and delegating functions to functionaries of the government, when necessary.

In a reaction to the PDP’s claim, a video was released by the state government showing the governor watching a Manchester United match.

Despite this clarification, the controversy raged until the governor transmitted a letter and proceeded on medical leave to attend to his health.

With all these developments in public domain, Adamu’s claim of the governor being extremely incapacitated was no news and therefore, unnecessary.

The fact that he made the claim at an event that did not directly concern Akeredolu made it more curious.

However, the APC national chairman has found his match in the Senator representing Ondo South, Jimoh Ibrahim, who declared on Tuesday that those wishing for the death of Akeredolu “would die before him”.

The senator, who, however did not state that he was reacting directly to Adamu’s claim, said he was surprised at the rate at which the governor’s health status had continued to top public discourses around the country. 

“I want to express my displeasure in the way people are talking about Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu’s health as if he’s the first public office holder to fall sick.

“We were all in this country when former President Muhammadu Buhari was out of the country for medical attention for about six months.

“I can bet you, those wicked and evil people who are wishing Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu dead will die before him by God’s grace,” Ibrahim reportedly declared.

The Ondo State Acting Governor, Aiyedatiwa, had also on Tuesday said he was in constant touch with Akeredolu. According to him, the governor is recuperating in a hospital abroad.

He said media reports on Akeredolu’s health were written by “faceless writers to fan ember of unity in the state.”

The acting governor urged the public to ignore the unfortunate lies and subterfuge as the antics of desperate political gladiators across political divides.

“The governor appreciates your prayers and good wishes for himself and the state, across the board. He is in high spirit, recuperating and being expected back in office to continue with his laudable service to the state, as soon as he is certified medically fit by his doctors

“I am in touch with him, the latest being on Sunday when he expressed appreciation to me and other State Executive Council Members for holding the fort while he is away,” the acting governor added in his statement.

Having handed over to his deputy in accordance with the constitution, Akeredolu should be allowed to attend to his health in peace. It is not a crime to be sick.