The Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has been sworn in as the substantive Governor of the State. This came less than 24 hours after the death of the governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, at the age of 67, in German hospital.
The new governor was sworn-in at the Cocoa Conference Hall in the governor’s office in Akure, the state capital and was administered by the State Chief Judge, Justice Olusegun Odusola at 5:18 pm.
In his opening remarks as the number one citizen of the state, Lucky Aiyedatiwa said: “it is with a heavy heart that I accept this honorous responsibility of taking over the reins of governance and affairs of our state after the unfortunate loss and passing of our beloved governor and leader and my dear principal arakurin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu.”
Present at the swearing-in are other judges and top government officials, including the Secretary to the State Government and members of the state cabinet, the state All Progressives Congress (APC) chairman and members of the State House of Assembly.
Lucky Aiyedatiwa had survived an impeachment plot by Akeredolu’s allies in the Ondo State House of Assembly and opposition by his late principal’s foot soldiers.
Controversy enveloped the politics of the state in the last few months with activists and constitutional lawyers calling on Akeredolu to transmit power to Aiyedatiwa in line with the 1999 Constitution.
Eventually, Akeredolu, a second-term governor before his death, transmitted power to Aiyedatiwa on December 13, 2023, as he embarked on a fresh medical trip overseas, the second in 2023.
Akeredolu, 67, could not make it back to Nigeria as he died of complications arising from prostate cancer.
