Aiyedatiwa to preside as Ondo holds first council meeting in three months

Lucky Aiyedatiwa, deputy governor of Ondo, is expected to preside over the state’s executive council meeting — three months after the last one was held.

The notice of the meeting is contained in a document titled, “Mr. Governor’s Engagement Thursday, 30th November, 2023″ issued on Wednesday by Bola Alabi, the chief of protocol to the governor.

Alabi said the council meeting is expected to be presided over by Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the deputy governor of the state, on November 30.

According to Alabi, the last council meeting was on August 14, 2023, when Aiyedatiwa was still the acting governor, adding that the November 30th meeting will be behind closed doors.

This development comes less than a week after President Bola Tinubu waded into the rift between Rotimi Akeredolu, governor of Ondo, and Aiyedatiwa.

On the night of November 24, the president met with Aiyedatiwa, members of the Ondo house of assembly, and chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for more than five hours in Aso Rock.

Since returning to Nigeria in September after a three-month medical leave in Germany, Akeredolu has reportedly been carrying out his constitutional duties as governor of Ondo from Ibadan, the Oyo capital city.

Following the situation, elders and leaders in Ondo led by Reuben Fasoranti have expressed concerns about the “huge governance gap” the governor’s prolonged absence from the state has caused.