Legal practitioner Mr. Allen Sowore has strongly criticized the alleged plan to remove the deputy governor of Ondo State by the State House of Assembly. He described the allegations against Lucky Aiyedatiwa as baseless.
During a plenary session, the State House of Assembly accused Aiyedatiwa of gross misconduct during his tenure as an acting governor. They sent a letter to the deputy governor, giving him seven days to respond to the allegations, signaling the initiation of impeachment proceedings against him.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Sowore expressed his disapproval of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu and the House’s actions, suggesting that they should focus on addressing internal saboteurs within the government.
Sowore’s statement emphasized that Governor Akeredolu should have reprimanded government officials found guilty of insubordination and sabotage during his absence, rather than targeting his deputy. He also highlighted the removal of the deputy governor’s media aides upon Akeredolu’s return from medical leave abroad, suggesting that this action indicated the governor’s displeasure with Aiyedatiwa’s attempt to assume the role of acting governor.
Sowore asserted that the allegations against the deputy governor were merely a ploy by a political cabal to exact revenge on Aiyedatiwa for attempting to govern the state in the governor’s absence. He suggested that the real issue in Ondo State was Governor Akeredolu’s high-handed and authoritarian approach to governance, rather than the actions of the deputy governors.
Sowore concluded by stating that both Agboola Ajayi, the former deputy governor from 2017 to 2021, and the current deputy governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, were respected individuals with strong records of public service. He criticized Akeredolu for allowing himself to be influenced by a cabal and for effectively leaving the state ungoverned from his private residence in Ibadan, asserting that it was unfair and unconstitutional to mistreat his deputy for performing gubernatorial duties in his absence.