Ondo assembly finally declares Aiyedatiwa acting governor

The Ondo house of assembly has finally declared Lucky Aiyedatiwa as the acting governor of the state.

On Wednesday, Olamide Oladiji, speaker of the house, received the medical leave notification letter of Rotimi Akeredolu, the state governor.

Oladiji said Aiyedatiwa will take over the responsibilities of the governor in acting capacity until there is a written declaration to the contrary.

The speaker said Akeredolu’s action was in line with section 190 of the constitution (as amended).

In a related development, Aiyedatiwa has returned to Akure, the Ondo state capital, to resume duties as acting governor.

Over the past few weeks, there has been pressure on Akeredolu to resign or hand over power to his deputy amid his continued absence from the state.

Akeredolu has been absent from Ondo since June on health grounds.

The governor returned to Nigeria in the first week of September after a three-month medical leave in Germany.

Since returning to the country, Akeredolu has been working from Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.

Akeredolu’s absence from Ondo became a source of concern to several stakeholders and created a political crisis.

There were allegations that the governor’s signature was being forged by some officials of the state government.